Two vessels with 22 Indians on board hijacked by pirates near Yemen, Somalia

Two commercial vessels carrying a combined total of 22 Indian nationals have been hijacked off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, signaling a resurgence of piracy in the Horn of Africa region, according to officials on Thursday. The Eritrea-flagged oil products tanker M.T. Sibu 1, carrying 16 Indian crew members, was captured by six armed pirates in the Gulf of Aden, located approximately 30 nautical miles off Yemen's coast.

All 20 crew members on board were reported safe, though their current status was still pending confirmation. This vessel comprised 16 Indian nationals, one Syrian, one Sudanese, one Iraqi, and one seafarer of an unknown nationality. The Recruitment and Placement Service Licence agency has been tasked with submitting incident reports and periodic updates via the e-Navik online marine casualty reporting system.

Sumit Kant Singh of SKS Krishiv Marine Services revealed that his company had hired four of the crew members and had provided their details to the Directorate of Maritime Administration.

In a different incident, pirates seized the Cameroon-flagged cargo vessel M/V LUTUF off Somalia's Puntland coast on Monday, targeting six Indian nationals among its 10-member crew. The vessel was hijacked around 3.5 nautical miles off Marraya in Puntland's Eyl district and subsequently steered towards the Nugaal coast. The crew also included a Turkish national, a Georgian, and two Serbian security guards.

The vessel, owned by Polar Movement Shipping, was en route to a Turkish military training facility in Mogadishu, carrying weapons and communications and satellite equipment. Eight pirates, believed to be part of a group previously implicated in the hijacking of the M/V Sward in April, took control of the ship and steered it towards the coast near Garmaal in Puntland's Dangoroyo district.

The current status of the LUTUF, its crew, and its cargo remained unclear. Turkish authorities had not yet commented on the incident.