MOGADISHU/BOSASO – Somali pirates have hijacked an oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden and are reportedly steering the vessel toward the Puntland coast, security officials said on Sunday.
The Yemeni Coast Guard first raised the alarm after the MT Eureka was overrun by armed men near the port of Qana.
Security sources in the semi-autonomous Puntland region of Somalia confirmed that the pirate group departed from a remote area near the town of Qandala.
The hijacking marks a worrying resurgence of maritime insecurity in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. While piracy had declined significantly over the last decade due to international naval patrols, recent regional instability has provided new openings for criminal networks.
Regional maritime authorities are currently tracking the vessel’s coordinates as it approaches the Somali shoreline.
