Socotra Island News

A Spanish navy ship is sailing at full speed towards a Maltese-flagged commercial vessel that may have been hijacked by pirates off Somalia, the European Union's Somali counter piracy force said on Friday.If confirmed, it would be the first successful hijacking involving Somali pirates since 2017 when a crackdown by international navies stopped a rash of seizures in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.EUNAVFOR's joint operations centre in Spain said it received an alert on Thursday about the "alleged pirate-hijacked vessel" Ruen, which was approximately 500 nautical miles east of Socotra Isl

A Malta-flagged, Bulgarian-owned bulk carrier was reportedly boarded on Thursday after being involved in an incident in the eastern Indian Ocean off Yemen's Socotra Island, British maritime security company Ambrey said in an advisory note.An Iranian-flagged fishing vessel in the area had switched off its AIS transponder six hours before the incident close to where the bulk carrier appeared to come adrift, Ambrey said."The Iran-flagged fishing vessel had previously been operating offshore Somalia," Ambrey added.(Reuters - Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Alex Richardso

A Chinese navy ship supported by an Indian navy helicopter thwarted an attack by suspected Somali pirates on a Tuvalu-flagged merchant ship, India's defence ministry said on Sunday. The ship, known as OS 35, was reported to be under attack on Saturday. The Indian defence ministry said four of its navy ships in the vicinity responded to a distress signal from the ship and reached the bulk carrier early on Sunday. It said the crew had taken refuge in the ship's strong room, known as the citadel, once they learnt they were under attack in line with established safe shipping operating procedures. "An Indian Navy helicopter undertook aerial reconnaissance of the merchant vessel at night, and at sunrise ...

Pirates who hijacked an Indian cargo dhow with 11 crew on board have moved the vessel to an undisclosed location within Galmudug waters off the Somali coast until their ransom demands are met, a pirate leader told Reuters on Tuesday. The vessel, Al Kausar, was initially taken to El Hur, near the port of Hobyo in Somalia's semi-autonomous Galmudug state but was then moved to avoid approaching security personnel, pirates said. Pirate leader Aw Kombe said negotiations were ongoing with businessmen in Kismayu over the release of Al Kausar, which was seized on Saturday. "The traders want the dhow released without (any) ransom (being paid) but my friends say they (will) not release it without (getting) at least some cash," he added.

Pirates have hijacked an Indian commercial ship off the coast of Somalia, the second attack in weeks after years of inactivity, industry and security sources said on Monday. United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which coordinates the management of merchant ships and yachts in the Gulf of Aden area, said it had received information that a dhow en route to Bosasso from Dubai had been hijacked "in the vicinity of Socotra (Island)". A spokesman said UKMTO could not confirm the location of the vessel, which he identified as Al Kausar, or what exactly had taken place, and that investigations were continuing. "We understand Somali pirates hijacked a commercial Indian ship (and it is heading) towards Somalia shores…

Pirates off the coast of Somalia, who hijacked an oil tanker with eight Sri Lankan crew on board, are demanding a ransom for the release of the vessel, the EU Naval Force said. The pirates seized the Comoros-flagged Aris 13 tanker on Monday, the first such hijacking in the region since 2012, and took it to the port of Alula in the semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland. "The EU Naval Force ... has received positive confirmation from the master of ... Aris 13, that his ship and crew are currently being held captive by a number of suspected armed pirates in an anchorage off the north coast of Puntland, close to Alula," the force said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The U.S. Navy Maritime Liaison Office in Bahrain has advised that the Master of a merchant vessel reported being approached by a suspicious skiff north-east of Socotra Island, in position 13.14.20 N/056.34.10 E on or about 1530 UTC on Saturday (5 April).   The skiff closed within 2 NM of the vessel. Procedures IAW BMP4 were successfully conducted, and a coalition vessel in the area safely escorted the vessel until the skiff moved out of range.   It is recommended vessels in the vicinity operate with a heightened level of security and report any suspicious activity to MSCHOA, UKMTO or MARLO.   GAC

On 29 June 2012 a dhow Pirate Attack Group (PAG) was disrupted at position 14 02N 051 25E approximately 145nm North West of Socotra Island. This is the same dhow which attacked a merchant vessel on 27 Jun at position 14 23N 054 38E. Pictures supplied from the merchant vessel during this recent attack led to the rapid release of this pirated dhow. Activity over the past two weeks shows that pirate activity can still take place during the South-West Monsoon and that pirates are operating closer to shore to avoid severe conditions further out to sea.

The following is a summary of worldwide maritime crime developments and incidents that occurred over the past week. 2. COLOMBIA: Bulk carrier was boarded on 13 May while underway 9.4 nm from Isla La Palma, Buenaventura, Colombia. 3. INDONESIA: Bulk carrier was boarded while at anchor on 12 May at Muara Jawa Anchorage, Samarinda, Indonesia. 4. EGYPT: Product tanker was boarded on 14 May while anchored at Port Suez Anchorage, Egypt. 5. YEMEN: Tanker fired upon 10 May while underway 260 nm east-northeast of Socotra Island, Yemen. 6. INDONESIA: Bulk Carrier boarded on 10 May while underway at Taboneo Anchorage, Indonesia. 7. YEMEN: Crude oil tanker attacked on 09 May while underway 345 nm east-southeast of .

As it is now the monsoon transition period and the sea states become more favourable for small boats, it is expected that pirate activity will continue to increase. A dhow was hijacked approximately 10 nm northeast of Raas Caseyr light, Somalia, in vicinity of position 12 00N 051 22E. It is believed to be white in colour, and its current location remains unknown. There has been an increase of piracy related activity in the Arabian Sea, as the weather has been favourable for small boats. A merchant vessel was attacked by one skiff approximately 300nm southeast of the Omani coast, in position 16 58N 064 48E  and another merchant vessel was attacked by two skiffs approximately 140nm northeast of Socotra Island.

The EU Naval Force Flagship ESPS Patino located a Yemeni registered dhow that was suspected of being involved in acts of piracy off the Somali coast. The previous day a merchant vessel had reported that it had evaded an attack by two skiffs. As she was close by, ESPS Patino was tasked to investigate the scene, and when her helicopter arrived, it located a capsized skiff, with suspected pirates embarking onto the Yemini dhow. The dhow was confirmed as a suspected mother ship, previously observed at a pirate anchorage. Authorisation was given for a team from Patino to board the dhow.

Neptune Maritime Security received information via credible channels that the vessel, MV FREE GODDESS (IMO 9107045), has been successfully hijacked by Somali pirates. According to the report Neptune received, the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier came under attack on February 7, 2012, in position 16.03N 062.26E (approximately 520nm NE of Socotra Island) at around 1500 UTC from an unknown number of pirates. Reports state that UKMTO received a call from the CSO of Free Goddess stating that he could not contact the vessel. The Free Goddess was en route from Adabiya, Egypt to Singapore, carrying 19,475mt of steel cable with a crew of 21 Filipinos on board. The vessel is not responding to any calls.

On February 13, the Yemeni Fishing Vessel Alfardous was believed to have been pirated close to Socotra Island in the Gulf of Aden.  The vessel has a reported crew of eight, nationalities presently not known. There is no further information on the condition of the crew.  EUNAVFOR is monitoring the situation. There are now at least 31 vessels and 694 hostages being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia. A list of FV Alfardous and other pirated vessels can be found here

In the early hours of February 8, the Oil Tanker MV Savina Caylyn was pirated approximately 670 nautical miles East of Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean. The vessel was boarded after a sustained attack by one skiff with 5 suspected pirates firing small arms and four rocket propelled grenades. The MV Savina Caylyn has a deadweight of 104,255 tonnes and is Italian flagged and owned. The vessel was on passage to Pasir Gudang (Malaysia) from Bashayer (Sudan) when it was attacked.

On the morning of 30 October 2010, the MV Polar, a Panama-flagged tanker, was pirated in the Somali Basin. The Liberian-owned MV Polar was attacked during the night, approximately 580 nautical miles (almost 1,100 km) East from Socotra island. The owner confirmed this morning that his vessel was under pirate control. The MV Polar, deadweight 72,825 tons, has a crew of 24, of which one is Romanian, three are Greek, four Montenegrin and 16 Filipino.

According to AFP, all 19 crew aboard a Panamanian ship which sank in the Arabian Sea in bad weather were rescued by a passing vessel, the official Yemeni news agency Saba said. The agency said the ship, a chemical transporter, sank between Socotra Island and the south coast of Yemen when it was battered by high waves and winds. An official at the Yemeni maritime authority said the ship was transporting fertilizers, warning that it could cause harm to marine life. The ship went down in deep waters north of Socotra, adding that Yemeni authorities were seeking more information from the crew. Source: AFP

The Indian Navy's reconnaissance aircraft and spy drones detected, tracked and photographed a new Chinese destroyer and a tanker traversing through the Indian Ocean region. The newly-commissioned Sovremenny class destroyer, built for the People’s Liberation Army (Navy) at Russia’s St Petersburg-based North Shipyard, was picked up as soon as it entered the Arabian Sea from the Red Sea. A Tupolev-142M long-range maritime patrol aircraft, flying from the Goa naval airbase, spotted the Chinese destroyer and the accompanying tanker off Yemen’s Socotra Island, located east of the Gulf of Aden, almost 2,300 km away from the Indian mainland.