Two ships carrying 22 Indian nationals hijacked by pirates, all of them safe: India
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Two ships carrying 22 Indian nationals hijacked by pirates, all of them safe: India")
MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal
Eritrea-flagged oil products tanker MT Sibu-1 was seized in the Gulf of Aden on August 20, around 30 nautical miles off Yemen. The vessel was carrying 20 crew members, including 16 Indians.
India's external affairs ministry on Friday (Aug 21) confirmed that two foreign-flagged ships carrying 22 Indian nationals were hijacked by pirates and that the government was in touch with the concerned authorities. One of the ships was hijacked off Yemen, the other was seized near Somalia. All the passengers are said to be safe, according to the ministry.
"Two foreign-flagged ships have been hijacked. We are in touch with the concerned authorities. There are 22 Indian nationals on board, 16 on one ship and six on the other, and all of them are reportedly safe," said MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal while speaking to reporters.
"We are looking into the matter. Let me tell you that the welfare and safety of our seafarers and seafaring community is something to which we attach very high importance," he further added.
Hijack incident
Eritrea-flagged oil products tanker MT Sibu-1 was seized in the Gulf of Aden on August 20, around 30 nautical miles off Yemen. The vessel was carrying 20 crew members, including 16 Indians.
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A separate incident took place on August 17 off Somalia’s Puntland coast when the Cameroon-flagged M/V LUTUF was boarded by eight armed pirates. Six Indians are among its 10 crew members.
The ship was seized near Marraya in Puntland’s Eyl district before being taken towards Somalia’s Nugaal coast. It was reportedly carrying Turkish weapons, communications and satellite equipment destined for a military training facility in Mogadishu.
The hijackings come amid renewed piracy concerns in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia and the wider Indian Ocean. Indian seafarers are particularly exposed, with the 2026 BIMCO-ICS report estimating that India supplies 311,936 seafarers globally, making it the world’s second-largest supplier after the Philippines.
