The fate of 26 Bangladeshis on hijacked ship MV Jahan Moni remains unknown even six days after its seizure by Somali pirates from the Arabian Sea.

Brave Royal Shipping Management Limited, operating company of the ship, initially assumed that the pirates would contact the ship authorities once they reach the Somali coast.

But to its dismay, none from the ship made any contact or picked up the phone until yesterday evening though the ship was anchored near Somali coast in the early hours of yesterday.

The pirates anchored the ship at about 1:30am, said Rahmatullah, technical officer of the Bangladeshi operating firm that was monitoring the position of the ship through satellite.

Despite repeated attempts, the crew could not be contacted, he said.

Meanwhile, with the spread of the information that MV Jahan Moni reached Somali coast, hope rose among the family members of the hostages fortheir safe return.

The families urged the government to take all-out measures to rescue their near and dear ones unhurt.

Family members of two crewmen of the ship— Chief Engineer Matiul Mawla and Engine Cadet Md Shahriar Rabbi— rushed to the office of Brave Royal yesterday afternoon.

Rabbi's mother Bilkis Rahman has been going to the Brave Royal office and the office of Marchantile Marine Department in Chittagong every day since she received the bad news and kept phoning different persons she knew to take steps for her son's rescue.

While talking to The Daily Star, she burst into tears at the Brave Royal office and expressed her dissatisfaction over government's initiative for the rescue ofthe hostages.

“I so far have no idea about the fate of my son and other crewmen. I don't even know what the government is doing in this regard," said Bilkis.

This was the first trip of her son after he completed hisstudy from the marine academy this year.

“The Brave Royal officials are assuring me that the pirates have wrongly hijacked the ship and would leave the crew if they find out the crewmembers were from Bangladesh," Bilkis said.

If so, then why did they Ipiratesl take the ship all the way to Somali coast, she asked.