State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury is hopeful about rescuing Bangladeshi sailors held hostage by Somali pirates this month.

“It will be possible to rescue the MV Abdullah sailors hijacked by Somali pirates in the current month. Our main responsibility is to return them safely to their families. Efforts are under way,” the state minister said at his office in the Secretariat on Tuesday.

“This is a massive incident which is not possible to fix by setting a deadline. But things are under our control. Hopefully, we can bring the sailors home safely."

On Mar 12, the MV Abdullah – a ship owned by SR Shipping, a subsidiary of Kabir Group – was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. The vessel was carrying 55,000 tonnes of coal from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates. The 23 sailors – all of whom are Bangladeshis – were taken hostage.

After taking control of the Bangladesh-flagged ship, the pirates moved it off the coast of Somalia. They have repeatedly shifted the position of the ship. Nine days after the hijacking, the pirates contacted the owners.

The government said it has made progress in rescuing the MV Abdullah vessel and its 23 sailors over the past few days.

Khalid Mahmud said, “The government had a target to bring home the hijacked sailors before Eid-ul-Fitr. But the target was not met and that became a problem.”

“We are trying to sort out the issue through the foreign ministry. Our shipping department also works in the international area and it’s also keeping track of developments. The situation is still not out of our control.”

Khalid Mahmud said the shipping ministry is in regular contact with the sailors. They are doing well and the issue will be solved "within a few days".