Somali piracy resurges as Iranian vessel seized carrying 23 crew

Somali pirates have seized an Iranian fishing vessel carrying 23 people, the European Union’s Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO) said, warning that the ship was approaching a commercial shipping lane and could become a floating base for further attacks.

The Azini was hijacked on Thursday between the coastal towns of Bandar Bayla and Hafun in northeastern Somalia, a maritime security officer with the Puntland Maritime Police Force said on Sunday.

The officer said that 12 pirates seized the vessel, which was carrying 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to speak with the media.

The crew’s safety was unknown, the centre said in an alert from Saturday. In an updated warning, it said that pirates could use the vessel as a “mother ship” to support attacks on commercial vessels.

The European Union’s naval Operation Atalanta was investigating. The centre urged ships in the area to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity.

The seizure follows a resurgence of Somali piracy across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean. By August, pirates had hijacked six commercial vessels since April, with some attacks taking place far from Somalia’s coastline. The captures included the oil products tanker Sibu 1, seized about 252 kilometres (136 nautical miles) east of al-Mukalla, Yemen.

In September, Puntland authorities said pirates killed five crew members of the tanker MT Honour 25 before security forces recovered the vessel. The tanker had been held since April. Authorities said that 16 suspected pirates were detained.

The renewed piracy adds another danger for shipping in a region already disrupted by the Iran war. Attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and threats by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels against Saudi-linked shipping through Bab el-Mandeb have complicated routes used to move oil to world markets.

Those disruptions have lengthened voyages and driven up tanker costs. Starting in September, some oil shipments diverted around Africa faced journeys up to a month longer, while daily spot charter rates for tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz had reached US$1 million.

International naval patrols and improved maritime security sharply reduced Somali piracy over the past decade. The latest seizures have renewed concerns about the threat to vessels off the country’s long coastline.