In a brazen act of maritime piracy, attackers armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades boarded a Malta-flagged tanker off the coast of Somalia on Thursday, according to British officials. The vessel, identified as the Hellas Aphrodite, was en route from Sikka, India, to Durban, South Africa, when it came under assault. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center issued an alert, warning other ships in the area of the ongoing threat. Private security firm Ambrey confirmed the attack, attributing it to resurgent Somali pirates who have been increasingly active in the region. The attackers reportedly seized an Iranian fishing boat, the Issamohamadi, to use as a base of operations, though Iran has not officially acknowledged the incident. The Hellas Aphrodite’s crew of 24 mariners locked themselves in the ship’s citadel for safety during the attack, as the vessel lacked an armed security team. This incident follows a recent suspected pirate attack on the Cayman Islands-flagged Stolt Sagaland, where armed security forces engaged in a firefight with the assailants. Somali piracy, which peaked in 2011 with 237 attacks and $7 billion in global economic losses, had diminished due to international naval patrols and a stronger Somali government. However, piracy has resurged in recent months, partly fueled by regional instability caused by Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. In 2024 alone, seven incidents have been reported off Somalia, with multiple fishing boats seized by pirates.
Attackers board a ship off the coast of Somalia after firing rocket-propelled grenades
