UK Maritime Agency Says Another Trading Vessel Has Been Hijacked Near Somalia

Another vessel near the coast of Somalia has been hijacked, the British sea trade monitoring agency has said amid renewed concerns about the resurgence of Somali pirates.

A dhow trading vessel was seized by heavily armed people near the town of Eyl off the coast of Somalia, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Friday. It cited military authorities as the source of the information.

Last week, the European Union’s Naval Force reported that a Maltese-flagged merchant vessel was hijacked in the nearby Arabian Sea and moved to the same area off Somalia’s coast. The bulk carrier Ruen had 18 crew onboard when it was hijacked near the Yemeni island of Socotra, around 240 kilometers off Somalia.

The EU Naval Force said one crew member was evacuated to an Indian navy ship for medical care. Suspicion has also fallen on Somali pirates for that hijacking, although the EU force said the hijackers and their demands were unknown.

There has been a recent surge in attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen, disrupting a major global trade route. The Houthis targeted Israeli-linked vessels over the Israel-Hamas war initially, but then escalated their attacks, hitting ships without clear ties.

Last month, the Pentagon said that five armed assailants who hijacked a commercial ship near Yemen and were captured by US forces were likely Somalis and that attack was “piracy-related.” Somalia’s maritime police intensified its patrols following the announcement. Attacks on vessels by Somali pirates peaked to more than 350 between 2010 and 2015, but had declined drastically since, largely due to patrols by U.S. and other allied naval forces.

(With agency inputs)