The use of a captured fishing boat as a launch platform matters because it extends the reach of pirate gangs well beyond the waters they can patrol in small skiffs.
Somali pirates have seized an Iranian fishing vessel carrying 23 people off north-eastern Somalia, according to the European Union's Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO). The centre warned that the hijacked ship, the Azini, was approaching a commercial shipping lane and could be used as a floating base for further attacks.
A maritime security officer with the Puntland Maritime Police Force told reporters on Sunday that the vessel was taken on Thursday between the coastal towns of Bandar Bayla and Hafun. He said 12 pirates seized the ship, which was carrying 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The crew's safety was unknown, the MSCIO said in an alert issued on Saturday.
In an updated warning, the centre said pirates could use the vessel as a "mother ship" to support attacks on commercial shipping. The EU's naval Operation Atalanta was investigating, and the centre urged ships in the area to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity. The use of a captured fishing boat as a launch platform matters because it extends the reach of pirate gangs well beyond the waters they can patrol in small skiffs, allowing them to lie in wait along busy routes.
The seizure follows a broader resurgence of Somali piracy across the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean. By August, pirates had hijacked six commercial vessels since April, with some attacks taking place far from Somalia's coastline. The captures included the oil products tanker Sibu 1, seized about 252 kilometres east of al-Mukalla in Yemen. In September, Puntland authorities said pirates killed five crew members of the tanker MT Honour 25 before security forces recovered the vessel, which had been held since April. Authorities said 16 suspected pirates were detained.
The renewed piracy adds another danger for shipping in a region already disrupted by the Iran war. Attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and threats by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels against Saudi-linked shipping through Bab el-Mandeb have complicated the routes used to move oil to world markets. Those disruptions have lengthened voyages and driven up tanker costs. From September, some oil shipments diverted around Africa faced journeys up to a month longer, while daily spot charter rates for tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz had reached US$1 million.
International naval patrols and improved maritime security sharply reduced Somali piracy over the past decade, and the latest seizures have renewed concerns about the threat to vessels off the country's long coastline. What is not yet confirmed is the condition of the Azini's crew, the identity and demands of the pirates, and whether the vessel has in fact been used to stage further attacks. The MSCIO's warning describes a risk rather than a documented operation, and Operation Atalanta's inquiry is continuing.
