Somali pirates hijack Bangladeshi cargo ship, take more than 20 hostage

March 12 (UPI) -- Somali pirates hijacked a Bangladeshi cargo ship on Tuesday and took more than 20 of the crew hostage.

The cargo ship "MV" Abdullah was hijacked while on its way to Al Hamriyah port in the United Arab Emirates.

According to reports, 23 crew members were taken hostage along with the ship, which was carrying 58 tons of coal from Mozambique.

An official with SR Shipping Lines, which own 23 vessels, confirmed to New Age Bangladesh that the company got a message at about 1:30 p.m. local time from the captain, who informed them of the hijacking.

The captain said in short message that the crew was safe.

A crew member said in an audio clip that the pirates attacked their ship using an Iranian fishing boat allegedly hijacked months prior.

"The pirates are threatening us. I am sending this voice message from the washroom. There are 7-8 of them. They intend to take us to their camp. They all have guns," the crew member, who's identity could not be ascertained, according to The Business Standard.

"We are waiting for their next message or call," commented Meherul Karim, SR Shipping's CEO.

Karim said a previous December 2010 hijacking that took 25 of the company's sailors hostage ended up with the workers being set free more than two months later.

The International Maritime Organization -- which is a United Nations body -- warned that attacks on commercial ships in the region in recent months by Houthi rebels gives room for Somali pirates to step up further attacks in shipping lanes, too.

The hijacking in that area -- known for such occurrences -- of the Indian Ocean came the same day the Biden administration announced sanctions against a international network of money launderers of the Somalia-based al-Shabaab terrorist organization, who are accused of compromising an expansive network that generates and launders millions for the al-Qaida affiliate in the Horn of Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus.

In 2017, Somali pirates hijacked an Indian ship with 11 on board while it was traveling from Dubai to Yemen. Two years later in 2019, maritime officials in India, China and Pakistan responded to a Somali pirate hijacking and freed 19 captured crew members in the close by Gulf of Aden.