A Malta-flagged products tanker has been boarded by armed pirates in the Indian Ocean.
According to maritime security specialists Vanguard Tech and Ambrey, the Hellas Aphrodite was attacked early today, approximately 549 nautical miles east-southeast of Hobyo, Somalia, far beyond the traditional high-risk area. The 50,000 dwt vessel, en route from Sikka, India, to Durban, South Africa, came under fire from a skiff launched from a suspected Iranian-flagged mothership, identified as the Issamohahmdi.
The pirates reportedly opened fire on approach before boarding the tanker. The vessel, which did not have an armed security team onboard, was seen altering course and speed at 06:44 UTC, roughly 546 nautical miles offshore Somalia. Another nearby tanker diverted away from the area following the attack.
The mothership involved — the Issamohahmdi — was reportedly hijacked in recent weeks and has since been linked to three prior incidents off the Somali coast. The dhow’s AIS last transmitted about 560 nautical miles offshore.
This latest assault comes just three days after the Stolt Sagaland, a Cayman Islands-flagged chemical tanker operated by Stolt Tankers, was attacked 332 nautical miles southeast of Mogadishu. In that case, four armed men in a skiff opened fire before being repelled by the vessel’s onboard security team.
The EU NAVFOR Atalanta operation has since raised the regional threat level, warning that a pirate action group (PAG) — likely operating from the hijacked Iranian dhow — remains active in the central Indian Ocean.
Private security firms have urged merchant vessels to maintain heightened vigilance and strictly follow BMP5 protection measures, warning of a “realistic possibility of further suspicious approaches” in the coming days.
The boarding of the Hellas Aphrodite marks a worrying escalation in the reemergence of Somali piracy, with attacks now occurring hundreds of miles from shore, in waters that had been largely calm for the past five years.
