MUNSHIGANJ, Bangladesh - Pirates hijacked the MV B Zaman-1 and stole 365,000 liters of furnace oil worth Tk3.28 crore from the Dhaleshwari-Shitalakkhya estuary in Munshiganj on Friday. The stolen oil belonged to Summit Group.

According to the crew, the ship was traveling from Narayanganj to Gazipur when it was attacked at 6:30 a.m. while making a turn near Char Muktarpur.

The pirates, acting as camel herders, boarded the ship from a trawler and kidnapped six crew members, including the captain.

Before they took possession of the ship, they confiscated their mobile phones, blindfolded them, and confined them in the engine room.

The looters transferred the furnace oil into oil tankers and fled in their trawler after abandoning the vessel at Meghna Bridge.

Fazal Ahmed Jan, manager of King Fisher Shipping, which owns the ship, said, "We lost communication with the crew early in the morning and notified law enforcement agencies. The ship's location was determined by tracking their phones. The pirates left before the cops arrived in the evening.

The captive personnel were eventually rescued by naval police and BIWTA authorities.

The ship's master, Saijul Islam, informed reporters that they departed Summit Power's depot in Narayanganj at 6 a.m. to carry furnace oil to Summit's Gazipur center. Approximately six masked individuals armed with weapons, including giant blades, stormed the ship and overpowered us.

They used the code word 'Pomegranate' several times during the attack.

Lutfar Rahman, in charge of the Muktarpur Naval Police Outpost, acknowledged that a case has been registered at Munshiganj Sadar Police Station.

"The Coast Guard examined the vessel, and efforts are underway to capture the culprits." However, it is unknown where the stolen furnace oil was taken," he said.