New Delhi, August 21: Two commercial vessels carrying 22 Indian nationals were hijacked by pirates in separate incidents near Yemen and Somalia.
A senior Shipping Ministry official said all Indian crew members are safe.
The first incident involved the Eritrea flagged oil products tanker MT Sibu 1 in the Gulf of Aden.
Indian Crew Members Reported Safe After Hijackings
The vessel was hijacked by armed pirates around 30 nautical miles off Yemen on August 20.
It had 20 crew members, including 16 Indians, one Syrian, one Sudanese and one Iraqi national.
The nationality of one crew member remains unconfirmed.
According to the vessel’s RPSL agency, six armed pirates boarded the tanker and took control of it.
Meanwhile, another Cameroon flagged cargo vessel, LUTUF, was hijacked off Somalia’s Puntland coast on August 17.
The vessel had 10 crew members, including six Indians.
Eight pirates armed with AK 47 type weapons reportedly boarded the vessel using two skiffs.
The crew initially moved into the vessel’s citadel for safety. However, the pirates later gained access and took them to the bridge.
The vessel remains under pirate control. No injuries have been reported so far.
The Shipping Ministry has advised the RPSL agency to submit incident reports and regular updates through the e Navik marine casualty reporting system.
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