Armed pirates sail from Somali port, Eunavfor warns
Operation Atalanta issued the warning following a suspicious approach on a China-flagged bulk carrier
Pirates have returned to the Indian Ocean after the monsoon season caused a lull in activity, EOS Risk Group head of advisory Martin Kelly said
A GROUP of armed pirates has left Somalia bound for the Indian Ocean, the European Naval Force has warned.
Eunavfor’s Operation Atalanta warned shipping that 13 pirates, armed with AK assault rifles and RPGs, had left the El Huur area of Somalia, just south of Hobyo Port.
Atalanta said it was “closely monitoring the situation” and advised vessels to report any incidents to the force’s Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa or UK Maritime Trade Operations.
The news follows a suspicious approach of China-flagged bulk carrier Huan Hang 99 (IMO: 9646651) on October 23 by five small craft in the Gulf of Aden, 48 nautical miles south of Aden. Huan Hang 99 is en route from Port Klang, Malaysia, to Suez.
Before this approach, piracy activity had been quiet for some months, which EOS Risk Group head of advisory Martin Kelly attributed to inclement weather caused by the monsoon season.
Kelly said via X that his company had warned its clients of Somali piracy’s likely return now the weather has improved.
Somali piracy has spiked in 2024 after several years of little or no activity.
MPV BBC Rhine (IMO: 9539377) (then Basilisk) was hijacked by pirates before being freed by Eunavfor in May 2024, joining Abdullah (IMO: 9745598) and Ruen (IMO: 9754903), which have both been hijacked in the past 12 months.
