European Union naval forces have successfully rescued 24 mariners from a Malta-flagged tanker attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia, an incident that has raised renewed fears about piracy in the region.
The seizure of the Hellas Aphrodite, which was transporting gasoline from India to South Africa, concluded when the ESPS Victoria, a Spanish frigate operating as part of the EU’s Operation Atalanta, reached the vessel.
Special forces boarded the tanker, finding all 24 crew members safe after they had locked themselves inside the ship's citadel when the attack began on Thursday, according to the private security firm Diaplous Group.
The pirates had launched their assault on Thursday, employing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Tracking data analysed by The Associated Press placed the tanker over 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) off the Somali coast on Friday.
The incident unfolded as the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre issued a warning of another maritime event in the same vicinity. A European Union naval force on Friday reached a Malta-flagged tanker earlier attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia,
The UKMTO said a small vessel carrying three people, believed to be part of the same pirate group responsible for the seizure of the Hellas Aphrodite, tried to get close to another ship, but the ship outran the pirate vessel.
The attack on the Hellas Aphrodite comes after another vessel, the Cayman Islands-flagged Stolt Sagaland, was targeted on FMonday in a suspected pirate attack that saw its armed security force and the attackers shooting at each other, the EU force said.
Other incidents also have been linked to the same pirate gang, believed to be operating from an Iranian fishing boat it earlier seized.
Piracy off the Somali coast peaked in 2011, when 237 attacks were reported. Somali piracy in the region in 2011 cost the world’s economy some $7 billion, with $160 million paid out in ransoms, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.
The threat was diminished by increased international naval patrols, a strengthening central government in Somalia, and other efforts.
However, Somali pirate attacks have resumed at a greater pace over the last year, in part due to the insecurity caused by Yemen’s Houthi rebels launching attacks in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
In 2024, there were seven reported incidents off Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau. So far this year, multiple fishing boats have been seized by Somali pirates. The Hellas Aphrodite represents the first commercial ship seized by pirates off Somalia since May 2024.
Local fisherman Osman Abdi, who lives in Mogadishu, said pirate attacks fueled fear and caused stigma for his nation.
“Since the pirates have committed hijackings today, it creates a problem for us,” Abdi said. “Their actions could be held against us, as many will consider us fishers to be pirates as well, and that instills fear in us.”
Drone sightings halt flights at major European cargo airport in Belgium
EU naval force races to ship seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia
Outside powers' reported backing for Sudan's warring sides helps fuel fighting as atrocities mount
Resurgence of Somali pirates after tanker attacked with rocket-propelled grenades
Civilians shot in streets and crushed by trucks amid brutal Sudan conflict
Sudan’s paramilitary forces agree to US proposal for humanitarian ceasefire
