Emboldened Pirates Plan Further Attacks Off Somalia

Following a successful hijacking earlier in the week, Somali pirates have ventured back to the ocean in pursuit of additional vessels traveling nearby.

Maritime consultancy Ambrey has been informed about the departure of four pirate skiffs from the regions of Hobyo, Nugal, and Mudug in Somalia, carrying 36 armed individuals.

The Bangladeshi bulk carrier Abdullah, seized by Somali pirates on Tuesday in the Indian Ocean, is now anchored near Somalia. Officials in Dhaka reported today they are awaiting the pirates' ransom demands for the vessel's 23 crew members. The current location of the Abdullah is near where the Ruen, a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier hijacked in December, was last located.

Owned by SR Shipping, a branch of Chittagong's Kabir Group, the Abdullah was transporting coal from Mozambique to Dubai. Pirates boarded the ship about 600 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, and forced it to transfer fuel to their dhow, which was low on supplies.

A ship from the European Union, part of the Operation Atalanta mission, has been monitoring the Abdullah, as stated by the EU forces.

Ambrey has analyzed video footage capturing the moment the pirates boarded the Abdullah. The footage showed the ship was not making any evasive moves at the time, the ocean was calm, and no defensive measures like razor wire, water hoses, or armed guards were present on the vessel.

This incident is not the first encounter with piracy for the Kabir Group's fleet. In 2010, another of their ships, the Jahanmoni, was hijacked and later released after a three-month ransom negotiation.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia was a significant threat from 2008 to around 2012, then saw a decline for about five years. This month, the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) noted a hijacked fishing dhow leaving Somalia with 11 armed individuals. In January, the Liberian-flagged capesize Lila Norfolk was attacked by armed pirates roughly 460 nautical miles from Somalia but was eventually freed by the Indian Navy.