MOGADISHU (Kaab TV) – Somali pirates have seized an oil tanker carrying 17 crew members while it was sailing near the Somali coast, according to Somali security officials.
A security official in Puntland said the oil tanker, Honour 25, was overtaken late on Wednesday by six armed men when it was about 30 nautical miles offshore.
Piracy in this part of the Indian Ocean—once infamous for ship hijackings—had almost disappeared three years ago.
However, it has now resurfaced, with fishing vessels and commercial ships once again being targeted.
Security sources say the latest wave of attacks appears to be linked to renewed financial incentives, following reports that pirates received a ransom payment in March for a Chinese-owned fishing vessel they had been holding in the Banderbayla district.
The latest seizure, involving a tanker believed to be en route to Mogadishu, is expected to raise alarm in the Somali capital, where fuel prices have already surged amid regional tensions.
The Puntland official said the tanker was carrying about 18,500 barrels of oil.
The official added that there are 17 foreign crew members on board: 4 from Indonesia, 10 from Pakistan, 1 from Myanmar, 1 from India, and 1 from Sri Lanka.
Maritime tracking data from ShipAtlas shows the vessel departed Berbera in Somaliland on 20 February.
It later sailed near waters close to the United Arab Emirates after the outbreak of regional conflict, before circling near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz and turning back toward Somalia on 2 April.
The ship is now anchored near the Somali coast between the fishing towns of Xaafun and Bander Beyla, under pirate control. It is carrying crew members of multiple nationalities, including Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.
Officials say five additional armed men have since boarded the vessel, bringing the total number of hijackers on board to at least eleven.
Authorities believe the attackers launched from a remote coastal area near Bander Beyla, though it remains unclear how they managed to intercept and seize the tanker.
Neither Somali authorities nor the European Union Naval Force, which monitors anti-piracy operations in the region, has yet issued an official statement on the incident.