On April 22, six armed persons in a skiff chased and fired upon a tanker underway, around 5.7 nautical miles East of Somali Coast, Somalia, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre announced.
As IMB reported, the master raised the alarm and sent distress message, to which a warship responded.
The skiff is said to have chased the tanker for approximately two hours, until continuous evasive manoeuvres made them move away.
One crew was reported to be injured.
At the same day late evening, off Somalia, an EU NAVFOR’s Spanish flagship, ESPS Galicia, received a SOS distress call from the master of a merchant ship, MT Costina, to say that his vessel was being attacked by a number of armed pirates in a fast-moving skiff.
ESPS Galicia launched a SH-3D Sea King helicopter and headed towards MT Costina, making the pirates flee away. EU NAVFOR conducted an inspection on MT Costina’s upper deck, confirming that the ship’s structure had a number of bullet holes from the pirate attack, but it was assessed that MT Costina could continue to her next port of call.
Speaking about this latest piracy incident, the EU NAVFOR Spokesperson, Commander Jacqui Sherriff, stated: “This attack again highlights the need for vigilance and adherence to the self-protection measures as laid down in Best Management Practices (BMP)4. It is crucial that Somali pirates are denied opportunities to attack vessels.”
The incidents consist two of a series of similar incidents occurring in Somali waters during the last months, after a 5-year intermission.
