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Two business vessels carrying a complete of twenty-two Indian nationals have been hijacked by pirates in separate incidents off Yemen and Somalia, a senior Transport Ministry official stated on Friday (August 21, 2026).
An Eritrea-flagged oil merchandise tanker, M T Sibu 1, with 20 crew members together with 16 Indians, was hijacked by armed pirates within the Gulf of Aden, round 30 nautical miles off the coast of Yemen on August 20, the official advised PTI.
One other Cameroon-flagged cargo ship with six Indians amongst its 10 crew members was hijacked by pirates off Somalia’s Puntland coast on August 17, he stated.
Officers stated that in keeping with the newest info, the Indian crew members are protected
The M/V LUTUF, which was carrying Turkish weapons, was seized on Monday (August 17, 2026) and brought by the pirates towards the area’s Nugaal coast.
The ship was seized about three and a half nautical miles off Marraya in Puntland’s Eyl district, the official advised The Related Press on situation of anonymity, as a result of he wasn’t authorised to talk publicly about delicate info.
The ship, owned by Polar Motion Transport, was carrying weapons certain for a Turkish army coaching facility in Mogadishu, in addition to communications and satellite tv for pc gear, the official stated.
The ten-member crew included six Indians, one Turkish nationwide, one Georgian and two Serbian safety guards, he stated.
There was no quick remark from Turkish authorities concerning the incident.
Eight pirates, believed to be members of a bunch beforehand concerned within the hijacking of the M/V Sward on April 26, took the vessel towards the coast close to Garmaal in Puntland’s Dangoroyo district.
Two Turkish-owned vessels later approached the hijacked ship, whereas Turkish helicopters and drones monitored the world, the official stated.
On Tuesday, a small boat carrying two males approached the vessel and delivered khat, a stimulant generally chewed in Somalia, he stated.
After the boat returned to shore, an airstrike adopted, killing 4 males and wounding two others, the official stated.
The circumstances of the strike, together with who carried it out and whether or not these killed had been concerned within the hijacking, could not instantly be independently verified.
The standing of the LUTUF, together with its crew and cargo, wasn’t instantly clear. The AP could not independently confirm all particulars of the account.
(With inputs from AP)
Revealed – August 21, 2026 09:05 am IST
