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Tag: coast of Somalia

  • Pirates fire grenades and board vessel off Somali coast

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    Attackers have boarded a ship off the coast of Somalia after firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the vessel, according to a UK maritime agency.

    The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has issued an alert about the raid, which it said happened about 560 nautical miles south-east of the Somali town of Eyl.

    Private security firm Ambrey said the attackers were probably Somali pirates, who have been active in the region in recent days.

    Greek shipping company Latsco Marine Management also confirmed the attack, saying all the ship’s 24 crew were “safe and accounted for” and “we remain in close contact with them”.

    “The Master of a vessel has reported being approached by one small craft on its stern. The small craft fired small arms and RPGs towards the vessel,” UKMTO said in a statement.

    According to Latsco, the attack on the Malta-registered vessel occurred at around 11:48 local time (08:48GMT). It said the vessel was a tanker carrying gasoline.

    “[Latsco] has activated its emergency response team and is coordinating with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety and welfare of the crew,” it said.

    The vessel, named Hellas Aphrodite, was built in 2016, and was en route from Sikka, India, to Durban, South Africa, it said

    The attack comes amid a resurgence of piracy in the region, which had declined after peaking more than a decade ago.

    There were at least seven reported incidents last year, and several fishing vessels have already been seized by pirates this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

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  • 2 US Navy SEALs are missing off the coast of Somalia after rescue bid ends tragically, reports say

    2 US Navy SEALs are missing off the coast of Somalia after rescue bid ends tragically, reports say

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    Navy SEALsU.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Jayme Pastoric

    • 2 Navy SEALs fell into the water while on a mission off the coast of Somalia on Thursday.

    • A search and rescue operation is still underway.

    • The pair were boarding a vessel when one fell into the water, and the other jumped in to help.

    Two Navy SEALs are missing off the coast of Somalia after falling into the water during a nighttime boarding mission on Thursday, US officials told the Associated Press.

    The pair were climbing aboard a vessel while on a mission in the Gulf of Aden when high waves knocked one into the sea.

    The second SEAL jumped in after him as part of Navy SEAL protocol to help a comrade in danger and both vanished, the AP said.

    A search and rescue mission is underway to find two sailors, the US Central Command said in a statement Saturday.

    The officials spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

    The Gulf of Aden has been a focal point of Navy activity in recent weeks. Still, officials told the AP and the Washington Post that the incident was not related to the ongoing United States response to Houthi-led attacks on shipping in the Red Sea or to Iran seizing an oil tanker.

    However, two US officials later told the Post that the two sailors were sent to search for suspected Iranian weaponry heading for the Houthis in Yemen.

    The details of the Navy SEALs’ mission and which vessel they were trying to board are still unclear, though it is known that pirates roam the coast of Somalia hunting for cargo ships to hijack.

    US forces often work with other nations on counter-piracy missions in the area, which sometimes includes boarding vessels to ensure they have proper credentials and are not transporting illicit goods, according to the Post.

    The US Navy has often conducted such interdiction missions to intercept weapons on ships heading for Houthi-controlled Yemen, per AP.

    US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said the two sailors were “forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet (C5F) area of operations supporting a wide variety of missions.”

    Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told CBS’s Face The Nation on Sunday that the search is “still ongoing” and that the vessel was involved in a “normal interdiction” operation to try to disrupt the flow of weapon supplies to Yemen.

    “It’s not related to the strikes that we took against the Houthis,” he said.

    Read the original article on Business Insider

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