An Indian commercial ship has been hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of Somalia, Africa. The vessel was heading towards the shore when this incident happened.
A former anti-piracy official Abdirizak Mohamed Dirir, near Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region speaking to the Reuters had said on Monday, “We understand Somali pirates hijacked a commercial Indian ship and (it is heading) towards Somalian shores.”
UK based Dryad Maritime Security’s Graeme Gibbon-Brooks said that the company sources had told him the vessel on Saturday was on its way to Bosasso from Dubai when it was hijacked. He also added that the pirates were on board the vessel and took the ship and the 11 crew members to Eyl, located off the coast in Puntland.
This is the second hijacking by the Somali Pirates in 2017. In March, they hijacked a vessel, the first one commandeered since 2012, an oil tanker. This was released only after a fight with the Puntland’s marine forces. After the hijack, angry fisherman flooded into the waters, some with licenses, to start fishing in the area which is off limits to unlicensed fishermen in a bid to help the pirates escape. Marine forces had to intervene to bring the situation under control.
