Somali pirates who seized the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo ship Ruen in December might have used the vessel within the takeover of a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia two days in the past, the European Union naval pressure mentioned on Thursday.
Somali pirates induced chaos in essential international waterways for a decade main as much as 2018, however had been dormant till a resurgence of assaults beginning late final yr.
If confirmed, Tuesday’s assault from a confiscated ship would mark a return to a method used when pirates have been very energetic.
Visual data confirmed that not less than 12 alleged pirates boarded Abdullah, in keeping with the EU’s anti-piracy operation EUNAVFOR.
“It is possible that the origin of the pirates taking part in this hijacked SIC is the same as MV RUEN,” it mentioned, including that Abdullah’s crew has been reported to be secure.
British maritime safety agency Ambrey on Thursday mentioned “it was suspected the vessel may be used as a mothership to conduct further attacks on merchant vessels”.
The Ruen – which has a black hull, pink deck and a yellow smokestack with a pink horizontal stripe – was seen crusing eastward 160 nautical miles (296 km) southeast of Eyl, Somalia, in keeping with Ambrey. The agency suggested different vessels within the space to extend vigilance.
The seize of the Ruen was the primary profitable hijacking involving Somali pirates since 2017, when a crackdown by worldwide navies stopped a rash of seizures within the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Ransom for the Ruen’s kidnapped crew has not been paid, Ambrey mentioned. Media reviews say the pirates are holding 17 crew after releasing one for medical causes.
Data from the Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa, the planning and coordination centre for EUNAVFOR, present there have been greater than 20 hijackings or tried hijackings of vessels within the Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin since November.
(Reuters – Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Jonathan Saul in London and George Obulutsa in Nairobi; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Jan Harvey)
