TimesAsiaNews.com | High Sea – The European Union’s anti-piracy navy, operating in ATALANTA, has confirmed details of a piracy incident involving a Bangladesh-flagged bulk carrier, named MV Abdullah, seized in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday (March 12, 2024).
The ship was reportedly boarded by armed pirates, about 600 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, Somalia, during a trip from Mozambique to the UAE. Operation EUNAVFOR ATALANTA.
“The situation on board was that the pirates had seized and taken hostage 23 of its crew. The crew is safe, and the action is still going on. The ship was sailing towards the Somali coast,” EUNAVFOR reported in a gCaptain release timesasianews.com. Thursday (March 14, 2024).
Martin Kelly, Chief Advisor at EOS Risk Group, wrote in “X” that MV Abdullah has entered Somalia’s exclusive economic zone. He said the ship’s path matched the last reported position of the hijacking of the MV Ruen, which was hijacked on Dec. 14 in an area similar to Abdullah’s.
According to reports from media outlets that released the incident, the pirates demanded a ransom of $5 million, then Abdullah would release and threatened to execute the crew if their demands were not met.
Authorities have warned that some pirate action groups are believed to be operating from their centers in the Indian Ocean, with an operational range of up to 1,000 nautical miles from Somalia. It follows several fish piracy in the eastern Gulf of Aden and Somali basins in recent months.
They use aircraft carriers to reach further offshore, a strategy used by Somali pirates for a range of more than a decade.
The recent incidents appear to signal a resurgence of Somalia-based piracy, further complicating shipping through the region as the Houthi terrorist group continues to attack merchant ships in the Red Sea and western Gulf of Aden.
The ruen hijacking in December last year marked the first successful piracy of a commercial vessel by Somali pirates since 2017. EU NAVFOR has suggested that the future of piracy in the region could depend on the outcome of the case. If piracy proves profitable, it could spur a revival of pirate activity after the rainy season, making conditions more favorable to their operations.
EUNAVFOR ATALANTA remains dedicated to securing maritime safety in the Western Indian Ocean, which has been a key player in the fight against piracy for the past 15 years. They recommend that ships traversing these areas adopt enhanced security measures and maintain communication with MSCHOA and UKMTO for updates on potential threats. (gCaptain/Tanews)
