Somali Pirates Kill Five Crew Members on Hijacked Tanker

Somali pirates killed five crew members aboard the hijacked fuel tanker MT Honour 25 before security forces retook the vessel off the coast of Puntland, Somalia. According to Puntland authorities, the victims included one Indian sailor, three Pakistani nationals and one Myanmar national. Four other crew members, including three Pakistanis and one Indian, were injured. The Palau-flagged tanker, which had 17 crew members on board, was hijacked in April while carrying petroleum products towards Mogadishu. Security forces later launched an operation to recover the vessel and arrested 16 suspected pirates.

In a separate operation, Puntland maritime forces also recovered the MT Eureka, a Togo-flagged fuel tanker that had been hijacked in May near Yemen. The vessel had 12 crew members, including eight Egyptians and four Indians. The pirates reportedly fled towards the shore as security forces approached, leaving the crew behind. The tanker was subsequently recovered, although reports said it had been damaged and set on fire. The latest incidents come amid renewed concerns over piracy in waters around Somalia and the Gulf of Aden.