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Somalian pirates have hijacked a Malaysian tanker, which is being sailed towards their coastal base of Eyl, where six other vessels are also being held for ransom.
The Bunga Melati 5 was en route from Saudi Arabia carrying petrochemicals bound for Singapore when it was seized in the Gulf of Aden on August 29. The tanker, which is owned by Malaysian national carrier MISC, had a crew of 41 on board.
The vessel had apparently been within the vicinity of an anti-terrorism ‘security corridor', which was set up last week by a multi-national task force in response to the sudden increase in attacks on shipping in the area. Naval forces were alerted but were unable to prevent the hijacking as the safety of the crew was considered to be paramount.
Almost 20,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden every year, heading to and from the Suez Canal. At least 30 ships have been attacked by pirates this year, making the waters off the Somalian coast the most dangerous to shipping in the world.
Last week Somalian pirates seized four ships in 48 hours, holding around 130 hostages from at least nine vessels from Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, Nigeria and Iran.
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