The MV Hoang Son Sun is believed to have been pirated approximately 520 nautical miles South East of the port of Muscat, Oman. The 22,835-tonne Bulk carrier, which is Mongolian flagged and Vietnamese owned, has a crew of 24 Vietnamese nationals. No further details of the attack are known at this stage. MV Hoang Son Sun was not registered with MSC(HOA) and had not reported to UKMTO.
There are now 30 vessels and 723 hostages being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia.