MOGADISHU: Five crew members, including three Pakistanis, were killed during a Puntland operation to rescue the hijacked tanker MT Honour 25, Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region said on Tuesday.
The Palau-flagged petroleum products tanker was seized by pirates on April 21, around 30 nautical miles off Puntland’s coast, with 17 crew members aboard, including 10 Pakistani nationals.
Puntland’s information ministry said security forces freed the vessel and arrested 16 pirates. The ministry said the pirates killed five crew members before the rescue operation began.
The victims included three Pakistanis, one Indian and one Myanmar national. Four other crew members — three Pakistanis and one Indian — were injured, according to the ministry.
The Ansar Burney Trust separately confirmed the deaths and said the injured crew members should be repatriated safely while the bodies of those killed should be returned to their families.
Among the Pakistani victims was second officer Kashif Umar, a Karachi resident who had worked in the merchant navy for about 25 years.
Pakistan had sought international intervention for crew’s release
The tanker seizure had raised concerns in Pakistan over the safety of the 10 Pakistani seafarers aboard the vessel. Last month, Pakistan sought assistance from the International Maritime Organization to secure their release and safe return.
Puntland authorities said the arrested pirates would be brought before a court. Officials did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
The rescue follows a counter-piracy operation in Puntland a week earlier in which regional maritime police said they had freed the tanker Sibu 1, which had been seized by Somali pirates in August.
The latest incident comes amid renewed piracy concerns off Somalia’s coast, particularly around the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean.
Somali piracy reached its peak between 2008 and 2014, disrupting commercial shipping and generating hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments.
Recent attacks have renewed concerns about maritime security in the region and the safety of commercial vessels and their crews.