Published: · Region: Global · Category: conflict

Somali Pirates Kill Five Tanker Crew in Hijacking Off Puntland, Officials Say

Somalia’s Puntland authorities say pirates killed five crew members on the hijacked MT Honour 25 petroleum tanker before regional security forces rescued the vessel, marking a deadly escalation in piracy off the country’s northeastern coast.

A hijacking of a petroleum products tanker off Somalia has left five sailors dead, according to officials in the country’s northeast, in one of the most lethal piracy incidents reported there in recent years.

The information ministry of Puntland, a semi‑autonomous state in northeastern Somalia, said Somali pirates killed five crew members of the hijacked MT Honour 25 tanker before the ship was retaken in a rescue mission by security forces.

Puntland lies along a stretch of coast that has seen waves of piracy over the past two decades, with armed groups targeting commercial vessels sailing through the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean. Local authorities there have previously cooperated with international partners to curb hijackings and armed robberies at sea.

The ministry’s statement did not provide detailed timelines or describe the tactics used in the rescue, but the reported deaths indicate that the operation unfolded under severe risk for the crew on board.

Whether this incident marks a one‑off escalation or the start of a renewed wave of lethal hijackings will depend on follow‑on attacks, the capacity of Puntland’s forces to respond and any adjustments by shipowners and regional partners to security in the area.

Sources

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