MV Abdullah likely to enter Bangladesh waters by Monday

The Bangladeshi-flagged vessel MV Abdullah, which was recently released by Somali pirates after being held captive for around 33 days, is expected to enter Bangladeshi waters with its 23 sailors and crewmembers on Monday.

In this regard, Meherul Karim, chief executive officer of SR Shipping Ltd, sister concern of KSRM Group, said that MV Abdullah is scheduled to reach Kutubdia in Cox's Bazar on Monday night. The crew will then be brought ashore.

Meanwhile, several sailors on the ship on Saturday said they are currently in the waters of the Indian part of the Bay of Bengal (Bay of Bengal). If the weather is favorable, they were hoping to reach Bangladesh on Monday. 

The ship, en route from UAE to Chittagong, was around 750 nautical miles away from Kutubdia as of 1pm on Saturday.

The vessel encountered the Somali pirates' attack on March 12 while transporting 55,000 tons of coal from the Maputo port of Mozambique to Al Hamriyah port in the UAE.

The pirates released the ship on April 14 after allegedly receiving a ransom.