Reuters: Commercial ship hijacked off Yemen falls into hands of Somali pirates - Sarmad

(Royters) – Two residents of Somalia’s Puntland region told Reuters on Thursday that a commercial ship hijacked last week in Yemeni waters in the Gulf of Aden is now in the hands of Somali pirates.

The ship, named MT Asana, is a tanker carrying fuel and chemicals flying the Tanzanian flag.

A source who identified himself to Reuters as a former pirate said there were 20 crew members aboard the MT Asana, including eight Germans and ten Filipinos.

The other resident witnessed the pirates transferring food to the hijacked vessel.

Last week, the UK Maritime Trade Operations stated that unauthorized individuals boarded the ship in the Gulf of Aden and directed it toward Somali waters, classifying the incident as a kidnapping.

Somali pirates caused widespread disruption in waters off the coast of the Horn of Africa state between 2008 and 2018. After a period of decline, piracy activities began to increase again in late 2023.