Somali Pirates Seize Iranian Fishing Vessel, Raising Fears of Attacks on Cargo Ships
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali pirates have seized an Iranian fishing vessel carrying 23 people, the Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean said, warning that the ship was approaching a commercial shipping lane and could become a floating base for further attacks.
Somali pirates have seized an Iranian fishing vessel, the Azini, carrying 23 people, including 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards. The vessel was hijacked between the coastal towns of Bandar Bayla and Hafun in northeastern Somalia on Thursday. The Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean issued a warning, stating that the pirates could use the ship as a "mother ship" to support attacks on commercial vessels.
The European Union's naval Operation Atalanta is currently investigating the incident. This seizure follows a resurgence of Somali piracy across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean, with six commercial vessels hijacked since April. The renewed piracy adds another danger for shipping in a region already disrupted by the Iran war and Yemen's Houthi rebels, complicating routes used to move oil to world markets.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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