Incident Alert – Vessel Attacked and Boarded by Armed Pirates in the Indian Ocean

Incident Details

The UKMTO issued a Warning (Incident 049) and subsequent update regarding an incident 600nm east of Mogadishu, Somalia involving an attack and boarding of a commercial vessel. The vessel’s Company Security Officer reported that the vessel was boarded by multiple persons from two craft, one large and one small and that the unauthorised persons now have control of the vessel.

Comment

The vessel boarded is believed to be the Bangladesh-flagged bulk carrier ABDULLAH which has 23 crew members onboard. Reports state the crew are safe but the vessel remains in control of the pirates. Some reports state this incident may have happened two days ago and messages from the ship have only just been received. The vessel was en-route from Mozambique to Dubai when the ship was attacked and boarded by pirates. The exact whereabouts of the vessel is unclear at this point.

Assessment

This incident appears have been conducted by a Pirate Action Group and may be linked to the report from MSCHOA on 03 March, that an Iranian fishing dhow had been hijacked by a group of 11 armed pirates who were carrying guns and RPG-7s. The alert said the pirates departed from Jiifle, Somalia with the intent to capture a large shipping vessel on the high seas. Ships transiting the area are advised to follow the counter-piracy guidance given in BMP 5 and consider the use of an Armed Security Team while transiting the area.