Pirates are bringing dumbas and goats from the shore for the sailors of the Bangladeshi ship held hostage for 18 days off the coast of Somalia. So the sailors of the ship are not worried much about the food. However, sailors are worried about the decrease in fresh water on board.

The sailors of the hostage ship MV Abdullah gave this information. Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association, the owner of the ship and the sailors’ organization, confirmed this information to media. On March 12, Somali pirates took MV Abdullah hostage along with 23 Bangladeshi sailors in the Indian Ocean. They later took the ship near the coast of Somalia. The ship, owned by Chittagong’s Kabir Group, is currently anchored one and a half nautical miles off the Jifal coast of Somalia’s Gadhavjiran district.

Almost 13 years ago on December 5, 2010, a ship owned by the same group named MV Jahan Mani was hijacked by Somali pirates. The ship was rescued after 100 days with all sailors. When the ship ran out of food while the hostages were in captivity, the pirates would bring in two dumbas a week. At that time two sailors in MV Jahan Mani reported this information to Media .

The ship had 25 days of rations for sailors when the MV Abdullah was taken hostage. A leader of the sailors’ organization told media about the information received through the sailors on the hostage ship that there is not much worry about food. Because the pirates are bringing dumbas and goats on the ship. But there are concerns about clean water. Because, the pirates are not able to supply fresh water to the ship. As a result, the fresh water on board has to be rationed. Due to the crisis, sailors are now using the fresh water of the ship for an hour two days a week. That is, they get clean water only two hours a week.

The MV Abdullah was carrying 200 tonnes of fresh water when it was hijacked. The sailors said that they could run for a month with this water. They said, but rationing can run for many days. To save water, sailors are now using pure water only for cooking and food.

When asked, Mizanul Islam, Media Adviser of Kabir Group of Chittagong, owner of the ship, told media, I hope there will be no problem with food.

Regarding the release of the sailors, Mizanul Islam said, “Discussions are going on.” There is no final agreement yet. Our effort is to bring back the sailors as soon as possible.