Armed guards repelled Friday’s attempted hijacking of the296,900-dwt Island Splendor (built 2011) 230 miles (370 km) east of Hoboyo.
Dryad Maritime Intelligence says the same pirate crew operatingin two skiffs is suspected of following up with an attack on a fishing vesselon Monday which it believes was disrupted by coalition naval forces.
The attempt on the VLCC is the first report of a merchant vesselcoming under small arms fire since the end of the monsoon season and is alsothe first large vessel to be fired upon since April, UK-based Dryad said.
Ian Millen, director of Intelligence at the company said: “FollowingMonday’s report, it would appear that the attack on two vessels in the space offour days confirms that the Somali pirate business model is not yetbroken.
“Continued vigilance and strict adherence to BMP measures inall areas are the keys to success in keeping vessels safe.
“The incident with Island Splendor last Friday is a classicexample of where vigilance and a professional response paid dividends inpreventing what could have been the first real pirate success of2013.”
According to IMB data the Island Splendor was just the thirdcrude tanker to be attacked by Somali pirates this year.
Only four VLCCs have ever been successfully hijacked though thelast one came over two years ago.
