TWO commercial vessels carrying a total of 22 Indian nationals have been hijacked by armed pirates in separate incidents off Yemen and Somalia, a senior Shipping Ministry official said Friday. The Indian crew members aboard both vessels are safe, according to the latest information available, the official said. The Eritrea-flagged oil products tanker M.T. Sibu 1, carrying 20 crew members, including 16 Indians, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on August 20, about 30 nautical miles off the Yemeni coast, the official said. The crew also includes one Syrian, one Sudanese and one Iraqi national, while the nationality of another seafarer has yet to be confirmed. A second vessel, the Cameroon-flagged M/V LUTUF, was hijacked on August 17 off Somalia’s Puntland coast, according to the official. The vessel has 10 crew members, including six Indians. The Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) in a post on X raised concerns over “dangers faced by Indian seafarers amid the Iran war.

 

” It released footage of what it claimed to be a hijacking of “a vessel carrying 22 crew members, including 21 Indians, in the Strait of Hormuz on April 22.” The footage was posted on Friday and it was unclear if the FSUI was talking of a separate hijacking or the latest ones. The Shipping Ministry official quoted above said, “As reported by Recruitment and Placement Service Licence (RPSL) agency - S K S Krishi Marine Services (Opc) Private Limited, six armed pirates are presently onboard the vessel (M.T. Sibhu-1) and have taken control of the vessel.” The RPSL agency has been advised to submit an incident report and subsequent periodic updates through the e-Navik online marine casualty reporting system, the official said. Maritime tracking information indicates the tanker was approached by an unauthorised vessel before control of the ship was lost. The incident occurred as piracy activity off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden has increased this year.

 

A second vessel, the Cameroon-flagged M/V LUTUF, was hijacked on August 17 off Somalia’s Puntland coast, according to the official and maritime security reports. The vessel has 10 crew members, including six Indians. “The vessel is reported to have been boarded by eight pirates, armed with AK-47 type weapons and operating from two skiffs. “The crew initially mustered in the citadel. However, the pirates gained access and subsequently brought them to the bridge. The vessel is currently under pirate control. No injuries have been reported thus far,” he said. Meanwhile, India on Friday said it has raised with Somalian authorities the issue of the hijacking of two commercial vessels with 22 Indian sailors onboard. In a post on X, the Indian High Commission in Kenya said it is understood that there are reportedly 16 Indian seafarers onboard MT Sibu and six Indian seafarers onboard MV Lutuf. “All Indian seafarers are reportedly safe. We attach the highest importance to the safety and welfare of the Indian seafaring community,” it said.