Bosasso: Pirates have hijacked a Indian commercial ship off the coast of Somalia and the vessel is heading toward the shore, a former government anti-piracy official told Reuters on Monday.
"We understand Somali pirates hijacked a commercial Indian ship and (it is heading) towards Somalia shores," Abdirizak Mohamed Dirir, a former director of the anti-piracy agency in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region, said.
The Indian oil tanker, Al Kaushar, had 11 crew members on board and was on its way to Al Mukala port in Yemen from Dubai. It was hijacked on April 1.
The hijacking has rattled the shipping industry, raising questions whether the lucrative business of Somali maritime piracy has returned after a lull of about five years.
Earlier, in mid-March, a merchant fuel tanker was hijacked by pirates off the Somali coast. It was the first successful hijacking of a major commercial vessel in the Somali Basin since 2012.
The hijacking followed an outpouring of anger by locals over foreign fishermen flooding into their waters, some of whom have licences to fish there.
2010 was the high point in Somali piracy. Soon after that, shipping companies began placing armed guards onboard who would "show weapons" to circling pirates and if needed fire warning shots to scare them off.
(With agency inputs)
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