Indian Commercial Ship Hijacked By Somali Pirates

Pirates have hijacked an Indian commercial ship ‘Al kaushar’ with 11 crew members off the coast of Somalia while it was on its way to Al Mukala port in Yemen from Dubai on 1 April.

 Information has been received that a dhow en route to Bosasso from Dubai had been hijacked "in the vicinity of Socotra (Island)", United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), that coordinates the management of all merchant ships and yachts in the Gulf of Aden area, was quoted as saying by Reuters today.

"The vessel was being taken to the Eyl area of northern Somalia." an anti-piracy investigator at U.K.-based intelligence firm Dryad Maritime Graeme Gibbon Brooks said. The vessel initially was heading from Dubai to Bosaso, Somalia. Brooks said.

In March, Somali pirates hijacked the Comoros-flagged tanker Aris 13 with eight Sri Lankan crew members on board marking the first such seizure of a large commercial vessel since 2012.

The pirates said they had hijacked the ship in protest at foreign fishing vessels occupying their waters, but later released the vessel without a ransom payment after learning that Somali businessmen had hired the ship to take oil from Djibouti to the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has dwindled in recent years and prior to February, Somali pirates had not hijacked a commercial vessel since 2012.

Somali piracy cost the world economy between $6-6.9 billion at its peak in 2011, according to global NGO the One Earth Future Foundation.