Somali pirates have seized the Eritrean-flagged oil tanker M.T. Sibu 1 off the coast of Yemen.
Sea-news.az reports citing ABC News, that the incident took place approximately 136 nautical miles east of the Yemeni city of Al-Mukalla.
Six armed pirates boarded the vessel and redirected it toward the coast of Somalia’s Puntland region.
There were 20 crew members aboard the ship, comprising 16 Indian nationals, one Syrian, one Sudanese, and one Iraqi. The nationality of the remaining crew member has not yet been disclosed.
Last year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on the Sibu 1, alleging that the vessel belongs to Iran’s “shadow fleet” used for transporting petroleum products to evade American sanctions.
This marks the sixth commercial vessel hijacked by Somali pirates since April 21. Just three days prior to this incident, pirates also seized the cargo ship Lutuf off the coast of Somalia.
