On May 13 (local time), according to Drop Site News, Somali pirates are demanding a $10 million ransom to release the oil tanker MT Eureka, a ship owned by a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after the ship was seized off the coast of Yemen.
The incident occurred amid continuous disruptions to maritime operations in the Middle East due to the closed Hormuz Strait, forcing many merchant ships to change routes through the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and waters near Somalia.
According to security officials, the MT Eureka ship flying the Togo flag, was controlled by pirates at around 5 am on May 2, near the port of Qana in Yemen, in the Aden Bay area. This is the second ship seizure in just 10 days, after the HONOUR 25 ship was controlled by pirates on April 22.
After capturing the ship, 7 pirates controlled MT Eureka to Somalia waters and anchored near the fishing town of Murcanyo, at Cape Horn of Africa, near the island of Socotra in Yemen. Puntland regional security officials said that more gunmen then boarded the ship. It is estimated that there are currently about 30 pirates holding oil tankers and crew hostages.
There were a total of 12 sailors on board, including 8 Egyptian citizens, according to the announcement of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Officials of the Somali Embassy in Cairo said that the Egyptian government is putting pressure on the Somali Ambassador to Egypt, Ali Abdi Aware, to promote the rescue of the ship and crew.
A Somali Embassy official said that the embassy had contacted Puntland security officials to find information about the ship's location, as the pirate group continuously turned on and off the AIS automatic identification system to avoid being detected at sea.
Before being arrested, MT Eureka left the UAE port of Fujairah. According to Puntland security officials, the ship belonged to Royal Shipping Lines Inc. based in the UAE and carried about 20,400 diesel tanks. The company has not yet issued a statement about the incident.
The elders of the same tribe as the pirate group said that the arresters are negotiating with intermediaries in Egypt and the UAE. Initially, this group was said to have reduced the ransom to 7 million USD, but later raised it back to 10 million USD due to dissatisfaction with the progress of negotiations.
The European Union Navy, the unit monitoring anti-piracy operations in the Somali waters, has confirmed the arrest and advised ships operating in the area to maintain high alert.
The Somali piracy situation once peaked in the period 2005-2011, before decreasing sharply thanks to patrol operations by the EU, NATO, the US and many other countries. However, recent conflicts in the Middle East have dispersed anti-piracy resources, creating a security vacuum for Somali coastal armed groups to resume operations.
Currently, MT Eureka is said to be still anchored about 3.7 nautical miles from the fishing town of Bander Beyla, while negotiations on the fate of the ship are still ongoing.
