State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Sunday said the Bangladeshi cargo ship MV Abdullah and its 23 sailors were released from the clutches of Somali pirates through international pressure and negotiations.

He added that he had no information about the pirates being paid ransom.

Hijacked ship MV Abdullah released with 23 sailors

Khalid said this while talking to reporters at his Minto Road residence in the capital on Sunday (April 14). The Bangladeshi sailors were released after 31 days.

The Bangladeshi ship and sailors were captured by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on March 12.

"We have no involvement in money or ransom. We have no information that the ship was released by paying money. Many are showing different types of pictures, none of these pictures are true. We do not know where these pictures are coming from, how they are coming,” said the state minister.

"As far as it has been done, our Department of Shipping, various international organisations, the European Navy, the Indian Navy, the Somali Police… I want to thank the Puntland Police of Somalia; they have been cooperating with us all the time. The wings of the International Maritime Organisation have been very helpful to us."

"We have been negotiating with the pirates for a long time. There is no question of ransom here. We had discussions and various types of pressures were given. Those pressures have also worked here."

“They (the pirates) also had their own security concerns. The pressure was on them all the time,” added Khalid.

"It had gone to an extreme, that's why they got off the ship (there). And the pressure was so much, that when they took control of the ship, there were 20 pirates. Yesterday, when they left the ship, there were already around 65 pirates on board. You have to understand, how much pressure they underwent in the mainland. Everyone left there (the ship) together yesterday. They were surrounded within two nautical miles. The other fleets (various forces) were in position when they left,” he also said.

"Our Department of Shipping was talking to them at that time and helped them to leave, by moving the fleets a little further away,” said the state minister.

Describing it as a huge operation, Khalid said, "If we put all the emails we have sent together, those will fill a big basket. We had to keep corresponding every moment. Everyone has realised that we were so prompt and so serious."

The Department of Shipping will take steps to prevent such unwanted incidents from happening in the future, added.