Product Tanker Hijacked off Yemen, Then Diverted to Somalia
In the continuing recent upsurge in Somali-associated piracy, the Togo-flagged oil products tanker Eureka (IMO 1022823) has been boarded off Yemen’s Shabwa governorate and redirected towards the Somali coastline. The track of the vessel suggests that the Eureka is being directed towards Qandala, in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northeast Somalia, where without a harbor it is likely to be moored offshore.
It is not clear who has seized the vessel, which is managed by Emirati interests. Qandala lies 50 miles east of Bosaso, where the UAE armed forces maintain an outpost and DP World has a facility. It is possible that the ship has been seized on the initiative of a party with a commercial dispute with the owners.
The 88-meter coastal vessel had set off from Sharjah on February 17, and had made it through the Strait of Hormuz before the outbreak of war. It loaded its cargo in Fujairah, then made passage to the small oil terminal at Qana, in Yemen’s Shabwa governorate, an area controlled by the Internationally Recognized Government. The Eureka left Qana on April 30, heading east and lingering off the Shabwa coastline for several days before being seized by pirates on May 2.
The Dubai-based UKMTO has reported that there were two separate incidents in the same area on May 1 and 2, which the masters of the ships concerned reported as possible piracy attempts. In the first, the master of a bulk carrier said his ship was approached by a skiff, with a fishing vessel acting in concert standing off. In the second incident, the master of another bulk carrier saw seven armed men approach in a skiff. Both bulk carriers were in the Maritime Security Transit Corridor (MSTC) at the time. The UKMTO has warned of heightened pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden area and seas off Puntland.
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On April 26, the Palau-flagged oil products tanker Honour 25 and the St Kitts & Nevis-flagged cargo vessel Sward (MMSI: 511100524) were boarded and redirected towards Mareero and Gracad, respectively on the north and east coast of Puntland. The European Union Operation Atalanta counter-piracy naval force appears to have eyes on one of the hijacked vessels with a frigate close by.
Somali pirates may be attempting to take advantage of the diversion of US Navy ships away from the area. It is also possible that the withdrawal of UAE forces from some positions along the Gulf of Aden coastline has reduced oversight of the area. Additional traffic is also now passing along the MSTC, with cargo for Saudi Arabia all flowing along the corridor rather than being split with Saudi ports in the Gulf.