Arrr! Methinks another vessel hath been seized by scurvy pirates off the treacherous shores o' Somalia!
2023-12-22
Arr! Them scallywags be seizin' yet another ship off Somalia's coast! Aye, 'tis the second time in recent weeks! Methinks piracy be makin' a comeback in them African Horn waters. Shiver me timbers!
In alarming news, a British sea trade monitoring agency has reported yet another vessel hijacking near the coast of Somalia, sparking concerns that Somali pirates are once again active. This comes nearly a decade after they wreaked havoc on international shipping. According to the agency, a dhow trading vessel was seized by heavily armed individuals near the town of Eyl off the coast of Somalia. However, no details about the hijackers have been provided and an investigation is currently underway. In a separate incident, the European Union's Naval Force revealed that a Maltese-flagged merchant vessel was hijacked in the Arabian Sea and moved to the same area off Somalia's coast. The bulk carrier Ruen, with 18 crew members onboard, was hijacked near the Yemeni island of Socotra. One crew member was evacuated for medical care, while the identity of the hijackers and their demands remain unknown. While Somali pirates are suspected in both hijackings, attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen have also increased recently, disrupting a major global trade route. Initially targeting Israeli-linked vessels during the Israel-Hamas war, the Houthis expanded their attacks to ships without clear ties. It is worth noting that last month, the Pentagon revealed that the assailants who hijacked a commercial ship near Yemen and were apprehended by U.S. forces were likely Somalis, classifying the incident as "piracy-related." In response to these developments, Somalia's maritime police have intensified patrols. After reaching a peak of over 350 attacks between 2010 and 2015, the number of Somali pirate attacks had significantly decreased due to increased patrols by U.S. and allied naval forces. The recent surge in hijackings raises concerns about the effectiveness of these measures.