Although activity in the East African HRA is at a low level, there were two incidents reported to UKMTO.
On June 8th, a merchant vessel reported being approached by 1 skiff with five people on board in position 12:53N-043:14E. The skiff maintained a parallel course to the MV for 20 minutes before closing. The MV activated fire hoses and its armed security team stood to. After 10 minutes, the skiff closed to 1100m and the AST showed their weapons, at which point the skiff moved away.
On the same day, a merchant vessel reported a mother ship and three skiffs with a CPA of three cables, which followed it for 40 minutes. One skiff closed to 900 metres but no piracy equipment was seen. A naval coalition helo was sent to investigate. No further information.
Weather conditions in the Arabian Sea and north Indian Ocean are currently judged as unfavourable for small boat operations, and we anticipate more reports from sheltered waters as the monsoon season continues.
Meanwhile, activity in Asia continues, following the alert issued by the IMB last week.
On June 14th, a Honduras-flagged product tanker was attacked by seven pirates in three speedboats in position 02:06:90N-104:39.80E in the South China Sea. The pirates boarded the ship, tied up and the crew and stole an estimated 620 metric tonnes of marine gas oil (MGO). A naval response was immediately launched and ReCAAP reports that six vessels intercepted the ship, but that the pirates had fled when the naval approach was seen.
