Pakistanis among crew as Puntland forces rescue hijacked tanker
Puntland security forces successfully rescued the MT Honour 25 tanker and its 17 crew members from Somali pirates, who have been detained. This follows a recent resurgence in piracy off Somalia's coast.
- Successful rescue of the MT Honour 25 tanker.
- Detention of pirates and impending legal action.
- Resurgence of piracy off Somalia's coast and its impact on shipping.
Somalia’s Puntland security forces rescued the MT Honour 25, a Palau-flagged petroleum products tanker seized by Somali pirates in April with at least 10 Pakistanis among the 17 crew members on board, Puntland state television reported on Tuesday.
The broadcaster said pirates who had been holding the vessel had been detained and would be brought to court.
Puntland officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The MT Honour 25 was seized on April 21 around 30 nautical miles off Puntland’s coast with 17 crew members on board, including at least 10 Pakistanis.
The rescue follows a similar Puntland counter-piracy operation last week, when the regional maritime police force said it had freed the US-sanctioned tanker Sibu 1, which Somali pirates had hijacked in August.
Piracy has resurfaced off Somalia’s coast in recent years, raising concerns for shipping through the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean.
A previous wave of Somali piracy from 2008 to 2014 disrupted one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, cost the global economy billions of dollars and resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments.
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