A merchant tanker that was seized in Yemeni waters in the Gulf of Aden last week has since been moved into the hands of Somali pirates, according to two residents of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region who spoke with Reuters on Thursday.
The vessel at the center of the incident is the MT Asana, a fuel and chemical tanker flying a Tanzanian flag.
One of the two residents who provided information identified himself as a former pirate. According to him, there are 20 crew members currently on board the MT Asana — eight of whom are from Germany and ten from the Philippines.
The second resident, based in the Puntland town of Caluula, reported witnessing pirates delivering food supplies to the captured ship.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations had previously reported last week that a vessel in the Gulf of Aden had been boarded by unauthorized individuals and then steered into Somali waters, officially classifying the incident as a hijacking.
Somali pirates were a major threat to international shipping in the waters off the Horn of Africa between 2008 and 2018. After years of relative calm, pirate activity began making a comeback in late 2023.
