Somali Forces Free Second Tanker Held by Pirates for Five Months

The Puntland Maritime Police Forces are reporting that they freed the product tanker Honour 25, which had been held by pirates for over five months off the coast of Somalia. Unconfirmed reports from the local media indicate there may have been deaths among the crew and possibly the captain, although the official report only mentions injuries among the pirates.

It is the second aggressive action by the police forces used to free vessels held by pirates in recent days and follows a similar operation led by Turkish forces to free a vessel transporting military equipment. It comes after the president of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, Saeed Abdullahi Deni, said the government would “fight the pirates without mercy.”

Local media reports are saying that two of the pirates were wounded in the operation to free the Honour 25. An unspecified number were also reported to have been detained and arrested.

The Honour 25 (3,089 dwt) was transporting oil products to Mogadishu when it was seized by the pirates on April 21 and taken into Somali coastal waters. EU NAVFOR Atalanta reported the day before that a fishing boat had been seized and believed it was used to stage the attack on the tanker. A Japanese Maritime Patrol aircraft was used to locate the vessel, but it was in Somali waters, so Atalanta forces, which reached the ship on April 25, were only observing, with the authority over the incident lying with the forces in Puntland.

The ship had a crew of 17, mostly from Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and Pakistan had attempted diplomatic efforts to release the crew. Unconfirmed media reports said the pirates were demanding $3 million for the ship and its crew.

The authorities in Puntland announced on September 25 that they had freed another cargo ship, Sibu 1, during a 48-hour maritime operation. The vessel had been held since August 20. The Puntland forces said all the pirates were "apprehended," while media said some had been killed or wounded. The media also said as many as 47 people were arrested during the operation, but unconfirmed reports later said at least 19 pirates had escaped from a convoy that was to take them to Mogadishu.

While it now marks four vessels that have been freed from the recent pirate activity, two other vessels remain in custody. A small tanker named Eureka was seized on May 2, and the Asana was seized on July 17. Both vessels and their crews are being held in the coastal waters off Somalia.