A Bangladesh cargo vessel was hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean with 23 member crew on board taken hostage, according to the ship’s owners.
The vessel, owned by Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills, was en route from Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, to the United Arab Emirates with a cargo of 55,000 metric tonnes of coal when it came under attack on Tuesday.
“A group of 15-20 Somali pirates hijacked the ship,” stated Meherul Karim, the chief executive officer of Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills.
Maritime security firm Ambrey confirmed that armed individuals had taken control of the ship, with the incident occurring in the Indian Ocean approximately 600 nautical miles (1,111 km) east of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) cautioned other vessels in the vicinity and stated that it was investigating the incident.
Concerns have been raised about a resurgence of pirate activity in the Indian Ocean since December, adding to fears stemming from a separate increase in attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping.
The Houthis have targeted vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with connections to Israel, the United States, or the United Kingdom, in response to Israel’s ongoing bombardment in Gaza.
With international naval forces redirected north from the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, there are apprehensions that pirates may exploit the resulting security gap. Somali pirates disrupted global maritime traffic for a decade, from around 2008 to 2018.