Somali pirates seized the MT Eureka in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday. The vessel is the second tanker hijacked in the region within 10 days.
4:05 PM
Somali pirates hijacked an oil tanker off the coast of Yemen on Saturday, according to Yemen's Coast Guard and multiple Somali security officials.
The MT Eureka, sailing under the flag of Togo, was seized by armed assailants in the Gulf of Aden near the port of Qana in Yemen's southeastern Shabwa province, the Yemeni coastguard said in a statement. The hijackers then steered the vessel toward Somalia.
According to three separate security officials from the semi-autonomous Puntland region in Somalia, the pirates departed from a remote coastal area near the seaside town of Qandala on the Gulf of Aden.
The hijacking marks the second attack on an oil tanker in the area within a 10-day period. On April 22, Somali pirates hijacked the tanker Honor 25, which was carrying 18,500 barrels of oil bound for Mogadishu.
Yemen's Coast Guard said it is attempting to recover the MT Eureka. The attack is at least the fourth maritime incident to occur near Somalia in recent weeks, according to reports of pirate activity in the area.
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