Chemical tanker the Aegean II, belonging to Greek company Aegean Oil, has been hijacked by armed men some 180 nautical miles southwest of Yemeni island, Socotra.
According to sea security consultancy Dryad Global, the attack marks the first major incident of pirate activity in Somali waters since the spike in maritime assailant incidents experienced around the Horn of African in 2011.
Since then heavily armed pirate attacks have largely shifted directly west of the latest armed vessel seizure in Africa’s equatorial waters to the Gulf of Guinea on the other side of the continent.
According to reports this morning, the 8100dwt vessel was en route from the United Arab Emirates to the Somali capital of Mogadishu when it experienced mechanical issues.
Stuck at sea, the Aegean II became a sitting duck after years of relative quiet off the coast of Somalia.
Dryad Global has since said: “So far, this incident appears to be an isolated and opportunistic incident which seized on a vessel in a vulnerable situation, which had transited close to Somali TTWs.
“There remains a threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia which is credible and can manifest as it did in this instance, however contextually the threat is vastly reduced on regional highs in 2011.”
