MOGADISHU: Pakistani Crew Members Killed in Somalia after Somali pirates killed five crew members, including three Pakistanis, during a Puntland operation to rescue the hijacked MT Honour 25, according to the information ministry of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region.
Pakistani Crew Members Killed in Somalia as 16 Pirates Captured
The Palau-flagged petroleum products tanker was seized by pirates on April 21, around 30 nautical miles off the coast of Puntland. The vessel had 17 crew members on board, including 10 Pakistani nationals.
Puntland authorities said the rescue operation successfully freed the tanker and resulted in the capture of 16 suspected pirates. However, officials said the pirates killed five crew members before the operation began. The victims included three Pakistani nationals, one citizen of Myanmar and one Indian national.
Four other crew members were reportedly injured, including three Pakistanis and one Indian.
Ansar Burney, director of the Ansar Burney Trust, separately confirmed the deaths and injuries. He called for the injured crew members to be safely returned and for the bodies of those killed to be handed over to their families.
Among the Pakistani victims was second officer Kashif Umar, a Karachi resident from the Buffer Zone who had spent 25 years in the merchant navy. According to the Ansar Burney Trust, Umar had reported during his last conversation that food, drinking water and other essential supplies aboard the tanker were running low.
Pakistan Had Sought International Intervention
The hijacking had raised concerns in Pakistan over the safety of the Pakistani seafarers aboard the tanker. Last month, Pakistan sought intervention from the International Maritime Organisation to help secure the release and safe return of the 10 Pakistani crew members.
The Puntland rescue operation followed another counter-piracy operation a week earlier, during which the regional maritime police force said it had freed the US-sanctioned tanker Sibu 1, which had been seized by Somali pirates in August.
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The latest incident comes amid renewed piracy concerns off Somalia’s coast, raising wider questions about maritime security in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean.
Somali piracy had previously reached a peak between 2008 and 2014, disrupting a major international shipping route and resulting in significant economic losses and ransom payments. According to experts cited in the provided information, changing regional conditions, including the effects of the Iran war and higher oil prices, may have contributed to the recent resurgence in attacks on petroleum tankers.
