DUBAI, United Arab Emirates(National times)- Attackers firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades boarded a tanker carrying gasoline off the coast of Somalia on Thursday, authorities said, likely the latest assault by resurgent Somali pirates operating in the region. A series of recent attacks attributed to Somali pirates had put shippers on edge even before Thursday\u2019s seizure of the Malta-flagged Hellas Aphrodite. The capture of the vessel represents the first commercial ship taken by pirates off Somalia in over a year and raised fears of more assaults. \u201cThis is an unprecedented series of events targeting merchant vessels since the hijacking of the MV Basilisk in May 2024,\u201d France\u2019s Maritime Information Cooperation and Awareness Center warned. \u201cPirates are agile, determined, move between areas and have real reach.\u201d The attack Thursday morning targeted the Hellas Aphrodite as it carried a load of gasoline from Sikka, India, to Durban, South Africa, the ship\u2019s owner Latsco Marine Management Inc. said. The British military\u2019s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center and the private security firms Ambrey described the attackers as using weaponry including RPGs. Its crew of 24 locked themselves in the ship\u2019s citadel as the attack happened. The ship reportedly carried no armed security. \u201cAll 24 crew are safe and accounted for, and we remain in close contact with them,\u201d Latsco said. The firm \u201chas activated its emergency response team and is coordinating with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety and welfare of the crew.\u201d Ambrey added that it appeared to be an assault by Somali pirates, who have been reported as operating in the area in recent days and who seized an Iranian fishing boat to use as a base of operations. Iran has not acknowledged the fishing boat\u2019s seizure, called the Issamohamadi. The European Union\u2019s Operation Atalanta, a counter-piracy mission around the Horn of Africa, issued a statement saying it had an \u201casset\u201d nearby and was \u201cclosing distance, ready to take the appropriate actions to respond effectively to this piracy alert.\u201d That EU force has responded to other recent pirate attacks in the area and had issued a recent alert to shippers that a pirate group was operating off Somalia and assaults were \u201calmost certain\u201d to happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates(National times)- Attackers firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades boarded a tanker carrying gasoline off the coast of Somalia on Thursday, authorities said, likely the latest assault by resurgent Somali pirates operating in the region. A series of recent attacks attributed to Somali pirates had put shippers on edge even before Thursday\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n