Somali Coast Witnesses Fifth Dhow Hijacking, Security Experts Report

There have been five reported kidnappings of fishing dhows off the coast of Somalia since November, raising concerns about maritime security in the region. The UK-based company EOS risk group has been closely monitoring these incidents, and the identity of the perpetrators behind the kidnappings is still unknown. In one case, a Yemeni fishing vessel hijacked off Eyl, Somalia, was spotted heading north along the Yemeni coast, raising suspicions of future piracy attacks.

One of the incidents involved the hijacking of the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier MV Ruen in the Indian Ocean, approximately 680 nautical miles east of Bosaso, Somalia. The ship remains detained in Somali waters, and the motives of the kidnappers are currently unknown. These incidents are reminiscent of the tactics used by Somali pirates in the past, and the hijacking of MV Ruen would be the first successful hijacking of a merchant vessel by Somali pirates since 2017.

These incidents come in the context of the ongoing maritime security situation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels have carried out missile and drone attacks on international ships from Yemen. Despite this, no connection has been established between the Houthi attacks and the recent kidnappings off the coast of Somalia.

Source .