Somali pirates kill 5 crew on hijacked tanker before rescue by security forces
Somali pirates killed five crew members of the hijacked MT Honour 25 petroleum products tanker before it was rescued by security forces, Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland said on Tuesday. The deaths aboard the Palau-flagged ship appear to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade. The ship with 17 crew members was seized by pirates in April during a resurgence of…
On Tuesday, Somali pirates aboard the hijacked tanker MT Honour 25 killed five crew members before the vessel was successfully rescued by security forces, according to Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland. The incident marks the first known attack on crew by Somali pirates in over a decade. The Palau-flagged ship, which carried 17 crew members and 18,500 barrels of oil, was seized in April.
The maritime police force of Puntland rescued the ship and captured 16 pirates, while four crew members were injured and three crew members – from Pakistan, Myanmar, and India – were among those killed by the pirates. A similar rescue mission had recently saved the US-sanctioned tanker Sibu 1 from pirates, resulting in the death of one pirate and injuries to four others, with 15 pirates captured.
However, 28 of the 41 pirates arrested in this operation later escaped while being transferred to jail, with accusations of local police complicity. Despite this, other hijacked tankers, including the MT Eureka and MT Asana, are still held by pirates who have moved south towards the port town of Hobyo in Galmudug state.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
