A European Union warship arrested six suspected pirates who tried to storm a tanker in the Arabian Sea on Friday.
TradeWinds has already reported about an unidentified cargo ship exchanging fire with a group of five or six men approaching it on a skiff 92 nautical miles (170 km) northwest of the Somali port of Bosaso.
In a social media post, naval force EUNAVFOR confirmed the incident, identifying the 75,000-dwt Chrystal Arctic (built 2010) as the targeted vessel.
After the ship’s own security guards managed to repel the attack, an EU war vessel rushed to assist and apprehended the raiders.
“The frigate has taken charge of the six suspected pirates, securing their physical integrity due to the unsafe condition of their skiff and treating some of them with injuries of varied severity,” EUNAVFOR said.
It did not clarify the men’s nationality.
According to vessel trackers, the Chrystal Arctic was underway from India towards Egypt with a cargo of jet fuel oil.
The ship is listed with Singapore-based Executive Ship Management.
This is the first known case of European forces actually managing to apprehend suspected perpetrators after Somali piracy resurged late last year.
The Indian Navy, by contrast, has repeatedly arrested suspected pirates attacking larger merchant ships and smaller fishing boats in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Describing the latest incident earlier on Friday, security company Ambrey Analytics said a merchant vessel spotted a blue-hulled boat approaching off its starboard side.
This craft contained five or six armed men and came within 100 metres of the unnamed ship.
A ladder was sighted on the boat, Ambrey said.
The cargo vessel then altered course and sounded its horn.
The private armed security team on board stood and brandished their weapons.
As the boat continued to approach, the guards fired two warning shots and the boat fired back.
