Five crew members, including an Indian sailor, were killed by Somali pirates aboard a fuel tanker that was hijacked months ago off the coast of Somalia.Security forces have now regained control of the vessel.According to the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF), the victims also included three Pakistani nationals and one Myanmar national.“PMPF carried out a maritime operation off the coast of Dharin-baar, Bandar Beyla District, successfully rescuing the MT Honour 25 oil tanker, which had been hijacked by pirates,” it said in a social media post on Tuesday.Puntland is a semi-autonomous region of Somalia.According to the PMPF, the pirates had initially offered to surrender while concealing the deaths of the crew members. It further stated that the ship was now safe and under Puntland government control. Sixteen suspected pirates were apprehended during the operation, while efforts to locate the remaining hijackers were continuing.
Vessel was hijacked in April
According to the European Union’s naval force Eunavfor, the MT Honour 25 oil tanker was hijacked in April while sailing towards Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. It was carrying around 17 crew members, most of them Pakistani nationals, along with a cargo of oil products.BBC Somali reported that the crew comprised 10 Pakistanis, four Indonesians, one Indian, one Sri Lankan and one Myanmar national.The commercial vessel, carrying 18,500 barrels of fuel bound for Mogadishu was hijacked on April 21.In a separate development, Somali pirates on Tuesday released a Togo-flagged tanker after holding it off Puntland’s Karkaar region.
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Nearly 30 armed pirates disembarked from the vessel and handed over all 12 crew members—eight Egyptians and four Indians—unharmed to the local community. The pirates reportedly damaged the vessel, MT Eureka, and set parts of it on fire before fleeing.The tanker had been hijacked on May 2 off Yemen’s Port of Qana while carrying 20,400 barrels of fuel. A substantial amount of its cargo was siphoned off and sold at sea during the months it was held captive. The crew members are now in the care of local residents in the Hul-Aanood area.(With PTI inputs)