There is no stable government in Somalia. The Somalian government does not control many areas of the riot-hit country. Concerned persons say the crew therefore does not have many options to free the ship and comply with the pirates' demands.
The owners finally contacted the employees on Wednesday morning. The owners said the 23 crew members were unharmed so far. Josna Begum, mother of Tanveer Ahmed, the ship's fourth engineer, told Prothom Alo that the pirates have not yet captured any of the crew.
The ship contained 25 days' worth of food and about 200 tons of water for 23 sailors.
*This report appeared on the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu