A Liberian-flagged bulker has reportedly been boarded by an armed group in the Arabian Sea in the latest potential case of piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Crew members were able to reach the citadel after the duty officer spotted the intruders boarding the ship, according to security company Diaplous.
Security analyst group Ambrey Analytics told TradeWinds the ship was Lila Global’s 170,100-dwt Lila Norfolk (built 2006).
The UK Maritime Trade Organisation said that five or six armed men had boarded the ship.
The boarding was about 850km off the coast of Somalia, south-east of Eyl, Diaplous said. The area off Eyl has been linked to a resurgence of piracy in recent weeks.
The security company said it assessed that pirates were likely to blame given the location of the incident and a similar suspected case of piracy.
A Bulgarian ship, the 41,600-dwt Ruen (built 2016), was hijacked on 14 December, most likely by Somalian pirates.
The Bulgarian government said the incident on the Ruen was a likely case of piracy and was expecting ransom negotiations.
Vessel tracking showed the handysize bulker on Thursday at anchor close to the Puntland coast.
The incident was one of the first for years, with the last successful hijacking in 2017.
The Ruen’s 18 seafarers managed to lock themselves in the citadel but the pirates broke into it and seized the crew, reports said.
The attack on the Ruen followed an attempted hijacking of the 20,000-dwt tanker Central Park (built 2015) by Somalis a few weeks earlier.
Piracy was rampant off the coast of Somalia for four years from 2008 but has reduced over the past decade.
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