&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Two vessels with 22 Indian crew members hijacked by pirates off Yemen, Somalia")
Two commercial vessels carrying a total of 22 Indian nationals were hijacked by pirates, PTI reported, citing a senior shipping ministry official on Friday (Aug 21). While one of the ships was hijacked off Yemen, the other was seized near Somalia. According to authorities, the Indian crew members are safe.
According to the report, the 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. Six armed pirates are now believed to be onboard and have taken control of the tanker, according to a senior shipping ministry official.
The crew also includes nationals from Syria, Sudan and Iraq, while the nationality of one seafarer remains unconfirmed.
The shipping ministry said the vessel’s recruitment agency, S K S Krishi Marine Services, has been directed to file an incident report and provide regular updates through the e-Navik marine casualty reporting system.
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.
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“The vessel is reported to have been boarded by eight pirates, armed with AK-47 type weapons and operating from two skiffs,” the official said.
The crew initially took shelter in the vessel’s citadel, but the pirates later gained entry and moved them to the bridge. No injuries have been reported.
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.
