Cargo ship hijacked by pirates

Early on Friday pirates attacked and hijacked the general cargo ship MV Susan K 35 nautical miles from the coast of Oman, taking its ten crew hostage.

The European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor) said the ship was attacked and boarded by at least ten armed pirates. The crew locked themselves in the ship’s citadel and requested help, but the pirates managed to enter the citadel and take the crew hostage, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

The MV Susan K flies the Antigua & Barbuda flag, but is German owned. It was on its way to Port Sudan, Sudan, from Mumbai, India. It has ten crew on board, including six Filipino and four Ukrainian sailors.

Also on Friday, the Greek coastguard announced that Somali pirates had freed the Greek-owned Irene SL oil tanker captured on February 9 off the coast of Oman. It has 25 crew, of whom seven are Greeks. 

The vessel is continuing its journey to Durban with two million barrels of Kuwaiti crude oil on board, worth approximately US$200 million. The ship was released on Thursday, but it’s not clear if a ransom was paid.

According to the IMB, there have been four attempted hijackings off the Somali coast this month and one other successful hijacking. Most of the attempts were foiled by armed security guards on the vessels.