OMM Redaksiyası
A tanker seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia has been recovered in an operation by Puntland security forces. Five crew members were killed in the incident, three of them Pakistani nationals.
How was the tanker freed?
The Palau-flagged “MT Honour 25” tanker was taken under control on Tuesday in the Dharin Baar area of Bandar Beyla district in Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Somalia.
The tanker was hijacked on April 21 with 17 crew members aboard, including 10 Pakistani nationals. According to the Puntland Marine Police Force, pirates killed five crew members and wounded four others before the security operation began. Three of those wounded are Pakistani. Sixteen suspected pirates were detained during the operation.
Names of killed sailors released
The Ansar Burney Welfare Trust released the names of the Pakistani sailors who were killed. They were second officer Kashif Omar, third engineer Mahmud Ansari and boiler operator Rafiullah. All three were reportedly from Karachi.
The organization said the information was provided by surviving Pakistani crew members Hussein Yousuf and Imran Ali. They contacted the organization’s office in Karachi using the captain’s mobile phone.
Conflicting accounts over sailors’ deaths
Accounts differ over the circumstances of the deaths. Puntland authorities said the five sailors were killed before security forces began the operation.
The Ansar Burney Welfare Trust, citing surviving crew members, said a gunfight broke out between Somali forces and the pirates during the rescue operation. According to the organization, the pirates fired at the hostages while moving away from the tanker and damaged the vessel’s steering system as they fled.
The two accounts have not been independently reconciled.
More than five months in captivity
The Pakistani sailors were held hostage for more than five months after the tanker was hijacked. Their families held repeated protests seeking their release and appealed for assistance to Pakistan’s authorities, foreign governments, the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization.
In September, family members staged a sit-in outside the Foreign Affairs Liaison Office in Karachi. Some relatives were detained by police during the protest. The families alleged that they had been treated harshly, while police denied some elements of the allegations.
The families’ campaign continued alongside diplomatic contacts between Pakistani and Somali officials. The sides met in Mogadishu in June. Crew members said they faced shortages of food, clean drinking water and medicine during their captivity. The pirates initially demanded $3 million in ransom and later reduced the demand to $1 million.
Piracy threat off Somalia’s coast
The recovery of control over the tanker comes as the threat of piracy off the Somali coast and in surrounding waters has returned to the agenda.
The International Maritime Organization said in July that 44 sailors were being held aboard three hijacked vessels. The organization said the “MT Honour 25” was one of the three ships. During the same period, 24 attempted or confirmed piracy and armed robbery incidents were recorded in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region.
The “MT Honour 25” is currently under the control of the Puntland government. The incident highlights the renewed risks facing commercial shipping off Somalia’s coast.
