Pirates attack vessel off Somalia's coast

A maritime policeman guarded an oil tanker after its release. [Photo: Reuters]

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A group of Pirates attached a vessel off Somalia's coastline, UK Maritime Trade Organization reported on its Website on Friday, in an attack that comes after months of stability along the region, which was prone to such incidents in previous years.

The incident happened about 100 nautical miles (185 km) northeast of Mogadishu, it said, without giving further details, Reuters noted, in what could give Somali authorities fresh concerns over the safety of her coastline.

For about two years, Somalia's coastline has witnessed relative stability following increased surveillance, which has boosted the economy of the country. Maritime police have been vigilant along the coast.

In 2017, pirates hijacked an Indian vessel before doing so to an Irish vessel. This led to increased security surveillance along the coastline, with a number of pirates either killed or arrested by authorities.

Last year, Somali pirates released three Iranian hostages held for five years, a maritime security official had confirmed, as conflicting reports emerged whether another ship had been seized after a three-year hiatus in hijackings.

The three Iranians are the last of the crew of the Iranian fishing vessel FV Siraj, which was captured by pirates on March 22, 2015.

"This marks the end of an era of Somali piracy and the pain and suffering of Somalia's forgotten hostages," said John Steed, the coordinator of the Hostage Support Programme, a volunteer organization based in Nairobi begun to help rescue crews abandoned by their employers.

The release was meant to mark the end of an era for Somalia's pirates, who held over 2,300 crew between 2010 and 2019.

But instead, six armed men hijacked the Panama-flagged Aegean II late days later after it had engine problems, a regional governor in Somalia told Reuters.

Musse Salah, the governor of Gardafu in Puntland, said the ship was traveling from the United Arab Emirates to Mogadishu port when pirates attacked it, in what would be the first successful hijacking since 2017.

There was 20 crew on board, said a resident in contact with the men who had seized the ship.

A regional security official said the men appeared to have links to a local militia that functioned as a police unit in the Bari region. The official asked not to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

GAROWE ONLINE