Merchant vessel attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean only 240nm from Quest hijack
On 25 February, a merchant vessel was reported as coming under attack by 1 mothership and 1 skiff in position 1446N 05839E, approximately 192nm Southeast of Salalah, Oman in the Indian Ocean. The mothership is described as being orange and blue in color, and the skiff as white with 6 pirates onboard. A rocket propelled grenade (RPG) is reported to have been fired; however, the vessel managed to evade the hijack attempt.
This attack occurred almost 240nm from the position of the hijack of the US yacht, Quest, one week ago which ultimately saw the execution of the American hostages by Somali pirates whilst being shadowed by US Naval vessels. 15 pirates were taken into custody by the US Special Forces. The Pirate Action Group continues to operate in the vicinity.
Vessels are reminded that the coalition forces' warships may not be in the vicinity of a pirate attack, subsequently, it is emphasised that seafarers can greatly reduce their chances of being pirated if they follow precautions as recommended in the Best Management Practices, increasing speed and carrying out evasive manoeuvres is a proven deterrent to piracy attacks.
Vessels are advised to exercise extreme caution when navigating in the vicinity of the reported position of the attack and maintain maximum CPA with any ship acting suspiciously. Additionally, registration of vessel movement with MSC(HOA) prior to transiting the region is recommended.
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Any suspicious activity should be reported to UKMTO in Dubai in the first instance (UKMTO@eim.ae or Telephone+971 50 552 3215) and on entering the UKMTO Voluntary Reporting Area (VRA) bound by Suez,78E and 10S.
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