Mogadishu, Somalia — Britain’s maritime watchdog said another ship had been hijacked off the coast of Somalia on Friday, raising fears that Somali pirates are back again, around ten. years after they created chaos in international shipping.
The small commercial ship was captured by an armed group near the Eyl district on the coast of Puntland, according to the British Maritime Trade Agency, which quoted the officials of the company that owns the ship.
The agency did not provide any further details about the identity of the kidnappers but said that an investigation is underway.
The European Union Navy said that a merchant ship carrying the flag of Malta was hijacked in the Gulf of Adam last week and headed for the same area off the coast of Somalia.
The ship Ruen had 18 crew members on board when it was hijacked near Socotra Island in Yemen, which is about 240 km from Somalia.
One of the crew members was evacuated to an Indian Navy vessel for medical treatment, the EU Navy said.
There has been an increase in the kidnapping of Somali pirates, as the European Union forces said that the hijackers of the Ruen ship’s demands are still unknown.
It is the first hijacking that took place on the shores of Somalia since 2017, and it is coming at a time when the Houthis in Yemen are also hijacking commercial ships passing through the Red Sea.