World News | Suspected Somali Pirates Seize Boat off Horn of Africa
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Suspected Somali pirates have seized a Yemeni fishing boat off the Horn of Africa, authorities said late Monday.
Dubai, Feb 11 (AP) Suspected Somali pirates have seized a Yemeni fishing boat off the Horn of Africa, authorities said late Monday.
A European naval operation in the Mideast, known as EUNAVFOR Atalanta, said the incident remained under investigation.
It said the attack targeted a dhow, a traditional ship that plies the waters of the Mideast, off the town of Eyl in Somalia.
The maritime security firm Ambrey said the attack saw the suspects steal three small boats equipped with 60-horsepower engines. Ambrey said early Tuesday “a suspected pirate action group has been sighted departing” off the coast of Eyl.
Once-rampant piracy off the Somali coast diminished after a peak in 2011. That year, there were 237 reported attacks in waters off Somalia. Somali piracy in the region at the time cost the world's economy some $7 billion — with $160 million paid out in ransoms, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.
Increased international naval patrols, a strengthening central government in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, and other efforts saw the piracy beaten back.
However, Somali pirate attacks have resumed at a greater pace over the last year, in part due to the insecurity caused by Yemen's Houthi rebels launching their attacks in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
In 2024, there were seven reported incidents off Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)