EU NAVFOR was informed that on Monday March 1, a merchant vessel, the Saudi Arabia-flagged Product tanker, in ballast, As Nisral Al Saudi with deadweight of 5,136 tonnes, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden.
The ship was heading to Jeddah and has a crew of 14. The master of the ship is Greek and the nationality of the rest of the crew has not been confirmed. They are all believed to be well. The ship was outside the Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor (IRTC) and was not registered on MSCHOA. The vessel is now in the vicinity of Garacad, a well know pirate stronghold. EU NAVFOR continues to monitor the situation.