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Delhi. In separate incidents off the coast of Yemen and Somalia, pirates hijacked two commercial vessels carrying a total of 22 Indian nationals. A senior official of the Shipping Ministry gave this information on Friday. The official said that as per the latest information, the Indian crew members are safe.

Ship with 16 Indians hijacked near Yemen

Armed pirates hijacked the Eritrean-flagged oil product tanker MT Sibu 1 on August 20 in the Gulf of Aden, about 30 nautical miles off the coast of Yemen, the official said. He said that the 20 crew members on board the ship include 16 Indians and one citizen each from Syria, Sudan and Iraq, while the nationality of another sailor has not been confirmed yet.

6 armed pirates kidnapped

“As per the information received from the Recruitment and Placement Services License (RPSL) agency 'S K S Krishi Marine Services (OPC) Private Limited', six armed pirates are currently on board the vessel and have taken control of it,” he said. The official said the RPSL agency has been asked to submit the incident report and subsequent information received from time to time through the 'e-Navik' online marine accident reporting system for investigation and record.

Ship with 6 Indians near Somalia

He said pirates hijacked another Cameroon-flagged cargo ship 'Lutuf' off the Puntland coast of Somalia on August 17. Six of the 10 crew members of this ship are Indians. “According to information, eight pirates boarded the ship in two small boats,” the officer said. They had weapons like AK-47,” he said, adding, “The crew members initially went to the ship's safe room but the pirates reached there and later brought them to the ship's control room (bridge). The ship is currently under the control of pirates. No injuries have been reported so far.

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