ALBAWABA- Somali pirates killed five crew members aboard the hijacked MT Honour 25 before Puntland security forces rescued the Palau-flagged tanker, authorities said Tuesday, in the deadliest reported piracy incident involving Somali waters in more than a decade.
The Puntland Information Ministry said the pirates opened fire on the crew before the rescue operation. Three Pakistanis, one Indian and one Myanmar national were killed, while four others — three Pakistanis and one Indian — were wounded.
The tanker, carrying petroleum products and 17 crew members, including about 10 Pakistanis, was hijacked on April 21, roughly 30 nautical miles off Puntland’s coast. Puntland authorities said the pirates were captured during the rescue operation and would be brought before a court.
Somali pirates killed 5 crew members of hijacked tanker before rescue mission, Puntland says https://t.co/I8SZchXvx1 https://t.co/I8SZchXvx1
The operation follows Puntland maritime police’s recovery last week of the Sibu 1, a US-sanctioned tanker that had been hijacked in August. Somali piracy declined sharply after peaking between 2008 and 2014, when attacks disrupted major shipping routes and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments.
But attacks have resurged in recent years, prompting renewed concern among shipping companies and international naval forces operating in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean.
The Honour 25 incident comes amid heightened regional instability and renewed security risks for commercial shipping. It is also the latest indication that Somali piracy remains a threat despite years of international efforts to suppress attacks along one of the world’s most important maritime corridors.
Dr. Mansour Al-Maswari is Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University-Global Center, Amman. A Yemeni academician with a Ph.D. in English "Comparative Literature" and two MA degrees, one in political science and the other in English, Dr. Al-Maswari possesses more than 17 years of extensive experience in university-level teaching, research, research reviewing, bilingual translation, and copy-writing...
Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive updates and enhanced content
