Somali Pirates Killed Five Crew Members Before MT Honour 25  Rescue, Puntland Says

GOOBJOOG NEWS | GAROWE: Somali pirates killed five crew members aboard the hijacked fuel tanker MT Honour 25 before Puntland security forces rescued the vessel, according to the Puntland Ministry of Information, in what appears to be the first such deaths linked to Somali piracy in more than a decade.

The victims included three Pakistani nationals, one Indian and one national of Myanmar, while four other crew members; three Pakistanis and one Indian, were injured while the vessel was held by the pirates, Puntland authorities said.

The Palau-flagged MT Honour 25, carrying 18,500 barrels of petroleum products and a crew of 17, was hijacked in April while travelling towards Mogadishu. Puntland said its forces later mounted a rescue operation that freed the vessel and resulted in the capture of 16 suspected pirates.

Puntland authorities have not provided further details about when the crew members were killed or the circumstances surrounding their deaths. The captured suspects are expected to face legal proceedings, according to Puntland authorities.

The rescue was one of two operations carried out by Puntland forces involving hijacked vessels. The Puntland Maritime Police Force also reported freeing MT Eureka, an oil tanker hijacked in May after being seized off Yemen. The vessel was brought under Puntland control after pirates fled towards the shore as security forces approached, according to the force.

The deaths aboard MT Honour 25 appear to mark the first reported killings of crew members by Somali pirates in more than 10 years, according to Reuters. The development comes amid a resurgence of piracy off Somalia’s coast, with several vessels having been seized in recent months.

The latest incidents have renewed concerns about maritime security along the Somali coast and the wider Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean, particularly as authorities and international maritime forces seek to contain the resurgence of piracy.

Somalia experienced a major piracy crisis between 2008 and 2014, when attacks disrupted one of the world’s busiest shipping routes and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments.