A vessel was attacked approximately 332 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, Somalia, earlier this week, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre has revealed.
The ship, reported to be a Cayman Island-flagged product tanker, was southbound. The master of the vessel reported that four unauthorised persons attempted to board the ship. According to the UKMTO report a small craft came from a mothership about 5km to the east of the vessel. Warning shots were fired.
No-one was reported to be hurt in the incident.
Maritime security experts Neptune P2P Group commented that this is the first piracy incident related to a commercial ship in the Indian Ocean since May 2024. A further report has also been received of an attack on a fishing ship which also fired warning shots.
“It is highly likely that both these incidents are linked to the reports of an active PAG [Pirate Action Group] that left Garacad, Somalia, last week. The reports also seem to confirm the use of a mothership, likely one of the Iranian fishing Dhows reported to have been taken last week off the Somali coast. This PAG is a threat to commercial shipping transiting the region; however, it appears the embarked Armed Security Guards have acted as an effective deterrent in both incidents and prevented a boarding. Ships are advised to comply with the guidance in BMP-Maritime Security and to consider using an Armed Security Team to best mitigate the threat from pirate activity,” Neptune comments in its report.
