Copyright hiiraan
Hiiraan Online Today from Hiiraan Online: Somali Music advertisements Suspected Somali pirates attempt failed hijacking of cargo ship off coast FacebookFacebook messengerTwitterWhatsAppLinkedInTelegramEmail Monday November 3, 2025 A map showing the location of a failed hijacking attempt by suspected Somali pirates approximately 332 nautical miles (534 kilometres) east of Mogadishu, Somalia, on November 3, 2025. The red marker indicates where the attack occurred. Maritime authorities say the vessel’s crew fired warning shots, forcing the attackers to retreat to their mother ship. CREDIT/ UKMTO Mogadishu (HOL) — Four unidentified men believed to be Somali pirates attempted to hijack a commercial vessel in the Indian Ocean early Monday, raising renewed concerns about maritime security off Somalia’s coast, international authorities said. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that the incident occurred about 332 nautical miles (approximately 534 kilometres) east of Mogadishu. In its advisory, UKMTO said, “The Master reports that four unauthorized persons attempted to board his vessel. The small craft came from a mothership approximately five nautical miles to the east of his vessel. The small craft returned to the mother vessel after it was challenged by the vessel.” The assailants later retreated to a larger mothership observed about five nautical miles east of the attempted boarding site, UKMTO said in its advisory. No injuries or damage were reported. The attempted hijacking follows growing fears that piracy could be making a comeback in the waters off Somalia, more than a decade after international naval patrols largely suppressed the phenomenon. Last week, regional officials raised the piracy threat level following the hijacking of a small boat, marking the latest in a string of suspicious approaches reported in the western Indian Ocean. According to the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) 2024 piracy report, incidents of attempted or successful boardings in the Indian Ocean increased to 33 in the first quarter of 2024, up from 27 during the same period in 2023. The IMB noted that Somali pirates have recently expanded their operational range, targeting smaller and less-defended vessels as far as 1,000 nautical miles from shore. Somalia’s waters were once among the world’s most dangerous for shipping, with hundreds of vessels hijacked between 2008 and 2012 when Somali piracy reached its peak, with hundreds of vessels hijacked and millions of dollars paid in ransom. Coordinated naval patrols by the European Union, NATO, and independent navies helped suppress the threat, but many of the underlying conditions that fueled piracy, including poverty, illegal fishing, and political instability, persist today. Maritime authorities are urging all vessels operating in the region to remain on high alert, follow the latest UKMTO advisories, and maintain communication with international monitoring agencies to reduce the risk of further attacks. Opinion| Privacy Policy|Sports|Somali Music|Somali Map All Rights Reserved Copyright. © 1999-2025, www.hiiraan.com
