The UK Maritime Commerce Operations (UKMTO) says it has acquired reviews {that a} dhow has been hijacked by closely armed personnel off Eyl, Somalia.
Authorities are investigating the incident.
If confirmed, the hijacking would mark the third hijacking of a dhow off the coast of Somalia prior to now month. Throughout the peak of Somali piracy greater than a decade in the past, pirates would use dhows as “motherships” to launch assaults towards service provider delivery removed from shore.
This newest incident comes after the reported hijacking of the M/V Ruen within the Indian Ocean greater than 700 miles off Somalia on December 14th. The ship, which is being monitored by European Union Naval Pressure (EUNAVFOR), has since arrived in Somali waters between Eyl and Xaafun peninsula in Somalia. The precise calls for of the hijackers, and their motivations, stay unknown.
If confirmed as Somali piracy, the Ruen incident could be the primary profitable hijacking of a business ship by Somali pirates since 2017. The incident additionally comes amid the broader maritime safety scenario within the Crimson Sea as Yemen-based Houthi’s goal business ships within the area in assist of Hamas in Gaza. In a single occasion, 5 Somali nationals had been apprehended after trying to hijack a business tanker within the Gulf of Aden.
