Report: Pirates Hijacked Small Product Tanker off Somalia
In a developing story, it is being reported that a small product tanker has apparently been seized off the coast of Somalia. The BBC was the first to report the story, saying the product tanker Honour 25 (3,000 dwt) had been commandeered and brought to an anchorage off the northern Somali coast.
EUNAVFOR Atalanta has not yet acknowledged the incident nor the local authorities, according to the BBC. However, it comes during a busy week in which there was an unconfirmed report of a boarding earlier after a pirate group was believed to have seized a local dhow to use as a mother ship. Yesterday, there was a report that the guards aboard another cargo ship departing Somalia had traded gunfire with a small boat that was approaching.
The Honour 25 is registered in Palau and appears to be operating ferrying fuel from the Middle East to Somalia. Its AIS data shows it had departed from Berbera in the Somaliland district on February 20 and proceeded to the UAE. It was last reported to have been anchored at Khor al Fakkan, UAE, at the eastern/southern side of the Strait of Hormuz. It is unclear if it was able to load fuel, but it appeared to get underway this week, reporting it was bound for Mogadishu with armed guards aboard.
BBC, quoting “multiple security officials,” writes that the ship was boarded by six armed individuals late on Wednesday, April 22, in a position approximately 30 nautical miles offshore. It reports that five additional armed individuals later boarded the ship, and it has been moved to an anchorage between Xaafun (Hafun) and Bander Beyla. It is the same area near Hafun cited in the earlier warnings.
They report that there are 17 crewmembers being held on the ship. The nationalities are reported to include Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.
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The BBC reports that with the war in the Middle East, Somalia has been under pressure over gasoline prices. It says gas prices in Mogadishu have tripled since the start of the U.S./Israeli conflict with Iran, and likely make Honour 25 a valuable “prize” for the pirates if it is laden with a cargo.
Since the beginning of the year, Atalanta has tracked five incidents in international waters, while it was investigating the reports this week of further activity. Most of the incidents, however, have involved smaller fishing boats or commercial trawlers, although it was believed the pirates fired upon a larger bulker on Thursday.