MV Hope capsize: Prize money announced for 6 missing crewmembers

The owner of Bangladesh flag carrier vessel MV Hope, which capsized near Thiland on May 4, announced $6,000 as reward for information about the six missing crewmembers yesterday.

Captain Mohiuddin Abdul Kadir, chief executive officer of Interport Maritime Limited, an organisation to protect the interests of oceangoing vessels, told the Dhaka tribune that the owner of the vessel had announced $1000 as prize money for information on each of the six missing crewmembers.

“We have already sent the message to the fishermen of the Thai coast,” he said, adding that they were trying their level best to find the missing crewmembers either dead or alive.

He also said the Phuket Gazette, a local daily of Thailand, had published news citing local fishermen that four bodies had been floating in the sea. However, they added that they had not found any authenticity of the news after communicating with the Thai authorities.

MV Hope, which was heading for Chittagong Port with imported raw materials from Malaysia, capsized at Andaman Sea near the Phuket coast as the cargo rolled to one side due to turbulent waves on early July 4.

A container vessel heading for Chittagong Port rescued five crewmembers of the vessel eight hours later while the Thai Royal Navy, Coast Guard and nearby oceangoing vessels rescued four more survivors and the bodies of two others.

The recovered bodies were identified as Chief Officer Mahabub Morshed from Chittagong and Chief Engineer Kazi Saifuddin from Dhaka.

Six crewmembers, identified as Captain Rajib Chandra Karmakar, Second Engineer Nazam Uddin, Electrician Sadim Ali, AB Nasir Uddin, Chief Cook Nasir Uddin and Oiler Ali Hossain, have been missing since yesterday afternoon.

Three more crew of MV Hope, who were undergoing treatment in Thailand, will return home on Thursday night. They are Engine Cadet Mushfiqur Rahman, Deck Cadets Raeq Fairooz and Abu Bakar Siddique, Captain Mohiuddin Abdul Quader, spokesperson of the MV Hope, said last night. The crewmembers will reach Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 9:30pm by a flight of Bangkok Air, he said. Earlier on Monday, five crewmembers of the vessels returned to their families.