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Somali pirates are feared by many parties. Photo/Reuters
Nobody reached them in time. The pirates boarded Abdullah’s ship, fired warning shots and took the captain and second officer hostage. This was said by Chief Officer Atiq Ullah Khan in an audio message to the ship owner.
“By Allah’s permission, no one has been harmed so far,” Khan said in the message, which was recorded before the pirates took the crew’s phones. The company shared the footage with Reuters.
A week later, Abdullah’s ship anchored off the coast of Somalia, becoming the latest victim of a resurgence in piracy that international navies say they have managed to control.
The piracy adds risks and costs for shipping companies that also have to contend with repeated drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia in the Red Sea and other nearby waters.
More than 20 attempted hijackings since November have raised the price of armed security guards and insurance coverage and increased the likelihood of ransom payments. This was revealed by five industry representatives.
Why Are Somali Pirates Feared?
1. Capturing the Moment of the Houthi Attack in the Red Sea
Photo/Reuters
Two Somali gang members told Reuters they were taking advantage of the distraction provided by Houthi attacks several hundred nautical miles to the north to resume piracy after being dormant for nearly a decade.
“They took this opportunity because international navies operating off the coast of Somalia reduced their operations,” said a pirate financier who goes by the pseudonym Ismail Isse and said he helped finance the hijacking of another bulk carrier in December.
He spoke to Reuters by telephone from Hul Anod, a coastal area in the semi-autonomous Puntland region in northeastern Somalia where the ship, the Ruen, had been held for weeks.
2. Old Unsolved Problems
Photo/Reuters
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2024-03-22 05:57:11