Somali pirates freed the hijacked MV Abdullah and its 23-member crew after paying a $5 million ransom, Caasimada Online reported on April 14.
The Bangladesh-flagged bulk carrier MV Abdullah was hijacked in March while en route from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates with a cargo of coal. The capture took place about 600 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
The ship was freed early Sunday with a $5 million ransom. Official sources said money was thrown from a helicopter at the pirates, after which the bandits abandoned ship.
“They brought us the money as usual two days ago… We checked whether the money was fake or not. “We then divided the money into groups and left, avoiding the government forces.”Abdirashid Yusuf, one of the pirates, told Reuters.
The increase in piracy off the coast of Somalia is due to weakened security measures and instability in the region caused by attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on ships associated with Israel.
Somali pirates wreaked havoc on the waters along the country’s long coastline between approximately 2008 and 2018. They remained dormant until late last year, when pirate activity began to recover. The incident marked the first time since 2012 that a ransom was paid to Somali pirates.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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