Somali Pirates Hijack Sri Lankan Fishing Trawler With 6 Crew In Indian Ocean

Suspected Somali pirates have reportedly boarded and also hijacked a Sri Lankan fishing trawler that had six crew members in the most recent attack against shipping in the Indian Ocean, Colombo’s navy said on Sunday. The information received is that Somali pirates had captured them, mentioned Sri Lanka’s navy spokesperson Gayan Wickramasuriya, adding that the Lorenzo Putha-4 had reportedly been seized on Saturday nearly 840 nm to the southeast of Somali’s capital, Mogadishu.

Yemen’s Houthis have launched several sets of attacks in the waters of both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to target Israeli-linked vessels as a response to the ongoing Israeli war against Hamas. On the other hand, international naval forces have diverted north into the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden, sparking some fears of resurgent pirates exploiting this gap, with the first-ever case of Somali piracy since 2017 recorded in December 2023. Sri Lanka has also warned the Combined Maritime Forces, Wickramasuriya informed AFP, referring to the global anti-piracy coalition.

He added that India’s navy had sent out a warship to investigate, whereas Sri Lanka’s navy was preparing a vessel to travel to that area. Pirate attacks taking place off the Somali coast went up in 2011 — with gunmen launching attacks up to 3,655 kilometres from the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean — before it fell off sharply over the recent years.

Last month, the Somali pirates hijacked a bulk carrier dubbed MV Ruen. The Malta-flagged and Bulgaria-owned vessel was seized by Somali pirates some 380 nm to the east of the island of Socotra on 16 December. The pirates, who had released an injured sailor into the care of India’s navy, took MV Ruen and the rest of the 17 crew members to the semi-autonomous state of Puntland.

Earlier this month, Sri Lanka declared that it was joining a US-spearheaded maritime task force in the Red Sea to protect international shipping against attacks by Houthi rebels. The cash-strapped island, however, has yet to send out a vessel. President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the Houthi attacks had raised freight costs and affected Sri Lanka’s tea and garment exports.

Reference: VOA, Firstpost

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