Athens (Somalia Today) — Twenty-four crew members are safe inside a fortified safe room after suspected Somali pirates boarded their tanker, the Hellas Aphrodite, in the Indian Ocean on Thursday, the ship’s manager said.
The boarding, which involved machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, marks a significant escalation in a resurgence of Somali piracy that international forces had suppressed mainly over the last decade.
The European Union’s naval force said a warship was “closing distance” to respond.
The attack targeted the Malta-flagged tanker as it carried gasoline from Sikka, India, to Durban, South Africa, according to its Greek-based manager, Latsco Marine Management.
“All 24 crew are safe and accounted for, and we remain in close contact with them,” Latsco said in a statement. The firm stated that it had activated its emergency response team and was coordinating with the authorities.
Maritime security officials confirmed that the tanker crew is safe in the citadel, a reinforced compartment designed to protect sailors during a pirate attack.
The vessel, which was not carrying armed security, was reportedly boarded approximately 560 nautical miles southeast of Eyl, Somalia.
Resurgence of Somali piracy
The incident is the latest in an “unprecedented series of events” targeting ships since May 2024, according to France’s Maritime Information Cooperation and Awareness Center.
Somali piracy reached its peak in 2011, costing the global economy an estimated $7 billion, with 237 reported attacks that year, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.
International naval patrols and on-board security neutralized the threat. However, attacks have resumed at a “greater pace” in the last year.
Security firm Ambrey said the assault was likely by a Somali pirate group operating from a hijacked Iranian fishing dhow, the Issamohamadi, as a “mothership.”
This attack follows a failed attempt on Monday against the Stolt Sagaland, where an exchange of fire took place between the ship’s armed guards and attackers, according to the EU naval force.
The incident occurred at 0220 UTC, about 332 nautical miles east of the Somali capital, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.
International response
The European Union’s naval mission in the region, Operation Atalanta, confirmed it was responding to the Hellas Aphrodite boarding.
An Operation Atalanta “asset is close to the incident and closing distance, ready to take the appropriate actions to respond effectively to this piracy alert,” the force said in a statement.
The mission had recently warned shippers that a pirate group was active and that assaults were “almost certain” to happen.
The last major boarding of a commercial vessel was the Basilisk in May 2024, which ended when EU naval forces rappelled onto the ship to rescue its 17 crew members. In December 2023, the Indian Navy freed the crew of the Ruen after Somali pirates hijacked it.
Maritime experts say the resurgence of Somali piracy has been partly enabled by the diversion of international naval assets to the Red Sea. There, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched dozens of attacks on shipping since November 2023.
