A European Union naval force has urgently mobilised to intercept a Malta-flagged tanker that has been taken captive by pirates off the coast of Somalia. This incident raises significant concerns regarding the safety of the 24 crew members on board the Hellas Aphrodite, which was transporting gasoline from India to South Africa.
During the attack on Thursday, the pirates utilised machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, subsequently boarding the vessel while the crew sought refuge in a secure citadel within the ship. Tracking data analysed by The Associated Press revealed that the tanker was located over 1,000 kilometres from the Somali coast. The situation underscores the ongoing threats posed by piracy in this region and the need for vigilant maritime security measures.
The EU’s Operation Atalanta, an anti-piracy coalition, said Friday its “assets are close to the incident and are closing distance, ready to take the appropriate action and to respond respectively to this event.”
As the European Union responds to ongoing maritime security challenges, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has issued a warning regarding a potential incident in the same vicinity. On Friday, UKMTO reported that a small vessel, carrying three individuals believed to be associated with the pirate group responsible for the recent seizure of the Hellas Aphrodite, attempted to approach another ship. Fortunately, the targeted vessel was able to evade the pirate vessel.
The incident involving the Hellas Aphrodite follows a separate attack on the Cayman Islands-flagged vessel Stolt Sagaland earlier in the week, where an armed confrontation occurred between the ship’s security team and the attackers. The European Union naval force has indicated that these incidents are linked to the same pirate consortium, believed to be operating from an Iranian fishing boat that they had previously seized.
Piracy off the Somali coast reached its peak in 2011, with a total of 237 reported attacks resulting in an estimated economic impact of $7 billion. During that year, approximately $160 million was paid in ransoms, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.
Efforts to mitigate the threat included increased international naval patrols and the establishment of a more robust central government in Somalia. However, Somali pirate activity has been resurgent over the past year, in part attributed to the instability stemming from Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea corridor amid ongoing tensions related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
According to the International Maritime Bureau, there have been seven reported incidents off the coast of Somalia in 2024 thus far. This year, several fishing vessels have been captured by Somali pirates. The seizure of the Hellas Aphrodite represents the first instance of a commercial ship being taken by pirates in this region since May 2024.
This article used information from The Associated Press
