The Bangladeshi vessel MV Abdullah, hijacked by Somali pirates with 23 crew members on board, has begun to move again today (15 March) after anchoring at about 7 nautical miles away from the shore of Garacad, Somalia coast yesterday.
"The ship lifted its anchor around 3:30pm on Friday and started moving away from the previous location," Mizanul Islam, media advisor of KSRM Group, said.
"Now the ship is on the move and we are trying to trace the latest location", he added.
The ship anchored yesterday at around 8pm, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Officials at the foreign ministry's Maritime Affairs Unit on Thursday said the pirates have not yet communicated with authorities in Bangladesh demanding any ransom.
However, the ship owners said that although the pirates have not communicated with them, they have
initiated their rescue procedure.
"We have held a meeting with different international agencies to establish communication with the pirates so we can rescue our sailors as early as possible," said Meherul Karim, chief executive officer of SR Shipping, a concern of KSRM Group, the owner of the hijacked ship, said Thursday.
"Though they (sailors) have not contacted us directly, they were able to send messages to their families using alternative communication methods. From the family members of the abducted sailors, we have learned that they are all fine," he added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also held an urgent meeting regarding the rescue process of the crew members of the abducted ship on Thursday morning. Representatives from different authorities concerned were present at the meeting.
After the meeting, Secretary of the Maritime Affairs Unit of the foreign ministry Rear Admiral (retired) Khurshed Alam told journalists that the first priority now is to bring the sailors back with the ship.
On Tuesday, pirates seized control of the ship, which was carrying coal from Mozambique's Maputo port to Al Hamriyah Port in the UAE, around noon.