Somali Pirates Move Hijacked Tanker MT ASANA Towards Puntland After Seizing It Off Yemen

Suspected Somali pirates hijacked a Tanzanian-flagged tanker off Yemen’s coast and took it to waters off Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region, security sources and local officials said on Sunday.

The MT ASANA, a 1992-built general and chemical tanker, was seized on Friday after leaving Mukalla, Yemen.

Local officials said the vessel is now being held off the coast of Caluula in Puntland’s semiautonomous Bari region.

Security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly, said seven armed Somali pirates boarded and seized the tanker.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) first reported that unauthorised people had boarded a merchant vessel about 65 nautical miles south of Mukalla.

The Yemeni Coast Guard later said the attack took place about 26 nautical miles off Yemen’s Hadramout province.

Maritime security company Ambrey said the tanker sent a distress call during the incident and was not carrying an armed security team.

A South Korean naval vessel was sent to the area, although there has been no information on whether it intervened.

Public vessel-tracking data showed the MT ASANA moving slowly through the Gulf of Aden on Friday with Bosaso, Somalia, listed as its destination.

The tanker was travelling at about two knots, an unusually slow speed that matched earlier reports of the distress call.

By Sunday, local officials said the vessel had reached waters off Caluula, indicating the pirates had taken it across the Gulf of Aden to Puntland.

It was not immediately clear how many crew members were on board or whether anyone had been injured. The nationalities of the crew have also not been disclosed.

Puntland authorities have not publicly commented on the reported hijacking. There has also been no immediate statement from the vessel’s owner or manager, while international naval forces operating in the area have yet to issue a public update.

The hijacking is the latest in a series of attacks linked to Somali pirates, whose activity has returned to the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean after years of relative inactivity.

A UKMTO-linked maritime advisory issued in May said piracy activity remained elevated, with at least one active pirate action group operating in the region. It said several recent incidents involved multiple skiffs, weapons and attempts to board merchant vessels.

The MT ASANA remains off Puntland’s coast, and authorities have not released further details on the crew’s condition or any response to the hijacking.

References: India Today