2 vessels with 22 Indians on board hijacked off Yemen, Somalia; all safe

Two commercial vessels carrying a total of 22 Indian nationals have been hijacked by armed pirates in separate incidents off Yemen and Somalia, a senior shipping ministry official said Friday (August 21).

The Indian crew members aboard both vessels are safe, according to the latest information available, the official said.

16 Indians aboard hijacked tanker

The Eritrea-flagged oil products tanker M.T. Sibu 1, carrying 20 crew members, including 16 Indians, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on August 20, about 30 nautical miles off the Yemeni coast, the official said.

The crew also includes one Syrian, one Sudanese and one Iraqi national, while the nationality of another seafarer has yet to be confirmed.

Also Read: Centre advises against deploying Indian sailors through Hormuz amid West Asia crisis

The Recruitment and Placement Service Licence agency has been asked to submit an incident report and subsequent periodic updates through the e-Navik online marine casualty reporting system, a report said.

Sumit Kant Singh of SKS Krishiv Marine Services said his company had recruited four crew members and provided their details to the Directorate of Maritime Administration.

LUTUF carrying weapons seized off Somalia

Meanwhile, a second vessel, the Cameroon-flagged M/V LUTUF, was hijacked on August 17 off Somalia's Puntland coast, according to the official. The vessel has 10 crew members, including six Indians.

According to a Somali official, the vessel was later moved towards Puntland's Nugaal coast. It was carrying weapons from Turkey, along with communications and satellite equipment.

Also Read: Centre summons Iranian envoy after Indian crew member killed in Hormuz tanker attack

The vessel was seized about three and a half nautical miles from Marraya, in Puntland's Eyl district, the official told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to publicly discuss sensitive information.

Six Indians among 10-member crew

The crew consisted of 10 people, including six Indian nationals. The others were one Turkish national, one Georgian and two Serbian security guards.

Eight pirates, believed to be members of a group previously involved in the hijacking of the M/V Sward on April 26, moved the vessel towards the coast near Garmaal in Puntland's Dangoroyo district.

Turkish forces monitor hijacked vessel

Two Turkish-owned vessels later approached the ship, while Turkish helicopters and drones monitored the area, the official said.

On Tuesday (August 18), a small boat carrying two men approached the vessel and delivered khat, a stimulant commonly chewed in Somalia, he said.

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After the boat returned to shore, an airstrike followed, killing four men and wounding two others, the official said.

There was no immediate statement from Turkish authorities regarding the reported hijacking.

'Dangers faced by Indian seafarers'

The Forward Seamen's Union of India (FSUI) in a post on X (Formerly Twitter) raised concerns over "dangers faced by Indian seafarers amid the Iran war."

It released footage of what it claimed to be a hijacking of "a vessel carrying 22 crew members, including 21 Indians, in the Strait of Hormuz on April 22." The footage was posted on Friday and it was unclear if the FSUI was talking of a separate hijacking or the latest ones.

The shipping ministry official quoted above said, "As reported by Recruitment and Placement Service Licence (RPSL) agency - S K S Krishi Marine Services (Opc) Private Limited, six armed pirates are presently onboard the vessel (M.T. Sibhu-1) and have taken control of the vessel."

The RPSL agency has been advised to submit an incident report and subsequent periodic updates through the e-Navik online marine casualty reporting system, the official said.

(With agency inputs)