100 days, $4m ransom, tugboat rescue: The 2010 hijacking of MV Jahan Moni | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
July 11, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2025
100 days, $4m ransom, tugboat rescue: The 2010 hijacking of MV Jahan Moni

Bangladesh

TBS Report
12 March, 2024, 06:10 pm
Last modified: 13 March, 2024, 05:15 pm

Related News

  • Palm oil-laden truck hijacked after driver, helper stabbed in Dhamrai
  • 2 BNP leaders among 6 detained in Sylhet for hijacking attempt
  • Pirates brought interpreter long 10 days after taking hostage: MV Abdullah crew
  • MV Abdullah: Sisters reunited with father after pirate hostage ordeal
  • 'We are all fine': MV Abdullah sailors reunite with families

100 days, $4m ransom, tugboat rescue: The 2010 hijacking of MV Jahan Moni

TBS Report
12 March, 2024, 06:10 pm
Last modified: 13 March, 2024, 05:15 pm
Photo: Shipspotting.
Photo: Shipspotting.

On 5 December 2010, officials of MV Jahan Moni – carrying 43,150 tonnes of nickel ore, got a distressing message around 3:30pm. 

They were told that the ship, which was in the Arabian Sea, some 170 nautical miles from the Lakkha Island of India, had come under the attack of pirates. 

At 0942 Coordinated Universal Time, Nato began circulating a warning: "a merchant vessel was reported under attack by pirates/1 skiffs in position 08°11N 071°43E". 

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

A few minutes later, the Nato message became clearer: "This vessel has been hijacked".

After another hour, officials in Chattogram received a call from the ship's crew who had gathered in the bridge room. 

It was official. The Somali pirates had taken over. 

Off to Somalia

The pirates then diverted the ship towards Somalia. 

The MV Jahan Moni had sailed from Indonesia on 11 November 2009. It stopped in the Singapore port and then left for Greece on 27 November. 

It had been more than a month since the crew – around 26 people, including the chief engineer's wife – had been at sea. 

The ship anchored near the Somali coast on 11 December. 

The crew anxiously waited to communicate with the pirates. But that wouldn't happen till the next afternoon.

That's when they meant Leon, a scrawny man who was negotiating on behalf of the pirates. 

The ransom? A cool nine million dollars. 

As the terms of release were being discussed, more problems emerged. 

Ship Captain Farid Ahmed called Meherul Karim, the ship's manager, on 24 December. 

The situation was dire, he said. The stock of pure drinking water and fuel of the ship were both about to run out. 

But the negotiations would continue for two months. 

The final amount was fixed on 22 February. Officials of the ship then got written confirmation regarding release of the pirates. 

A payment made

Two specially waterproofed suitcases were brought aboard the MV Jahan Moni bridge around 12 March. 

The sight of the suitcases was met with cries of delight from the pirates.

Within lay bundles of crisp hundred-dollar bills, meticulously stacked to the brim.

The crew, too, had never before beheld such a staggering sum of money in their lives. 

The pirates wasted no time, meticulously counting and verifying each bill to ensure its authenticity and that the negotiated amount of $4.72 million—$4.62 million for ransom and $100,000 for fuel— was met.

With satisfaction evident on their faces, the pirates swiftly signalled to the negotiators that the ransom was acceptable. 

However, Mohammed Shahjahan, managing director of SR Shipping and owner of the MV Jahan Moni, disclaimed any ransom payment, suggesting that the insurance company might have been involved.

The end

Meanwhile, aboard the ship, the crew sensed the conclusion of negotiations after a small aircraft circled overhead a couple of days prior. Optimism swelled among them, though tempered by lingering exhaustion from enduring nearly a hundred days of relentless stress under the watch of roughly 40 pirates armed to the teeth.

As 13 March dawned, a palpable tension gripped the pirates, whose attention was fixed on the sky, punctuated by the arrival of a pirate skiff and the familiar drone of an airplane. 

Parachuted boxes containing the ransom were delivered, sparking a flurry of activity as the money was swiftly counted in the presence of the hostages.

With the promise of imminent freedom, the crew awaited anxiously, their hopes intermingled with apprehension. 

Finally, the leader of the pirates announced their departure, igniting a surge of relief among the hostages after enduring their longest night.

The transfer of the ransom marked the dawn of liberation, yet lingering fears of further peril loomed until the arrival of a British naval ship offering assistance and a Kenyan tugboat providing essential supplies. 

With renewed hope and gratitude, the ship sailed away from its harrowing ordeal, bound for safety.

Top News

MV Jahan Moni / Hijack / MV Abdullah

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Bangladesh's delegation, led by Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, began high-level negotiations with USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer at 9pm Bangladesh time on Thursday (10 July). Photo: Collected from the Facebook handle of Golam Mortoza, Press Minister at the Bangladesh Embassy in the US
    No need to worry as US tariff talks ongoing: Fouzul tells biz leaders
  • Economist Abul Barkat; Photo: Courtesy
    Economist Abul Barkat arrested in graft case
  • Representational image. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS
    Explainer: Why SSC pass rate hit a 17-year low

MOST VIEWED

  • Graphics: TBS
    BB raises startup fund limit, drops upper age barrier
  • Workers pack undergarments at the packing section of a garment factory in Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Fatima Tuj Johora
    After US tariffs, jobs hang by a thread in Bangladesh's garments sector
  • Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS
    SSC, equivalent results: Pass rate drops to 68.45%, GPA-5 also declines
  • File photo of containers at Chattogram port/TBS
    US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs
  • Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
    Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
  • Students sit for SSC exam at Motijheel Girls' High School on 10 April 2025. Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS
    SSC exam results out: Here's how you can check online and via SMS

Related News

  • Palm oil-laden truck hijacked after driver, helper stabbed in Dhamrai
  • 2 BNP leaders among 6 detained in Sylhet for hijacking attempt
  • Pirates brought interpreter long 10 days after taking hostage: MV Abdullah crew
  • MV Abdullah: Sisters reunited with father after pirate hostage ordeal
  • 'We are all fine': MV Abdullah sailors reunite with families

Features

Photo: Collected/BBC

What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world

5h | The Big Picture
Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

8h | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered — have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

8h | Panorama
Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS

11 July 2024: Riot vehicles, water cannons hit the streets as police crack down on protesters

1h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

'Hypocrisy' will not continue, Iran tells IAEA

'Hypocrisy' will not continue, Iran tells IAEA

4h | TBS World
OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome

OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome

4h | TBS World
Will the title 'Honorable and Excellency' be abolished?

Will the title 'Honorable and Excellency' be abolished?

5h | TBS Today
July Declaration must be constitutionally recognized: Akhtar Hossain

July Declaration must be constitutionally recognized: Akhtar Hossain

4h | TBS Today
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net