Pirates Seize Ship Off-Somali Coast

GOOBJOOG NEWS| UAE: A ship carrying 55,000 tonnes of coal from Mozambique to the UAE was seized Tuesday afternoon by pirates off the coast of Somalia.

The owner of the ship, Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills said a group of 15 to 20 pirates seized the bulk carrier after they opened fire while on two speed boats.

Mizanul Islam, a company spokesman, said the attack took place around 1,000 kilometres off the coast of Somalia.
Hijackings off Somalia since December have fuelled concerns about a resurgence of Indian Ocean raids by opportunistic pirates, coming on top of a separate surge in attacks launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Houthi gunmen have launched scores of attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden targeting what they deem to be Israeli-linked vessels in response to Israel’s war against the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
International naval forces have been diverted north from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea, sparking fears that pirates will exploit the security gap.
The first successful case of Somali piracy since 2017 was recorded in December.
Naval forces — including from India, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles — have since freed fishing boats seized by gunmen and thwarted other attempted attacks. 

Pirate attacks off the Somali coast peaked in 2011 — with gunmen launching attacks as far as 3,655 kilometres from the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean — before falling off sharply after international navies sent warships and commercial shipping deployed armed guards.
Analysts however say that Somali piracy today poses nowhere near the threat it did in 2011.