Dhaka, March 14 -- All 23 Bangladesh crew aboard the hijacked Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah, anchored near the Somali coast on Thursday morning, are in good health, Foreign Ministry's Maritime Affairs Unit Secretary Rear Admiral (Retd) Khurshed Alam said on Thursday.

"Our prime target is to get them back safe and sound, and we won't deviate from this goal", he told newsmen at the foreign ministry.

The vessel MV Abdullah, carrying a cargo of 55,000 tonnes of coal, was hijacked by Somali pirates on Tuesday.

Mr Alam mentioned that the crew of MV Jahan Mini, another ship previously hijacked by Somali pirates, had been safely brought back home.

'Before that, seven Bangladeshi crew were brought back home from a hijacked Malaysian ship named ...