Puntland says five crew members were killed before its forces launched an operation to retake the hijacked MT Honour 25 from suspected pirates.
GAROWE, Somalia (Somali Report) — Puntland authorities have provided new details about an operation to retake the oil tanker MT Honour 25 from suspected pirates, saying five crew members were killed before security forces began their assault on the vessel.
The Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) said the operation was completed within a few hours and that the tanker was now under the control of Puntland forces. The statement did not give a precise location for the operation or say whether any Puntland personnel were killed or wounded.
According to the PMPF, the pirates holding the vessel killed five crew members in the early hours before Puntland forces launched the rescue operation. The dead included three Pakistani nationals, one crew member from Myanmar and one Indian national, it said.
Four other crew members were wounded, including three Pakistanis and one Indian, according to the Puntland statement. The authorities blamed the deaths on the pirates but did not provide details about how the killings occurred or the circumstances surrounding them.
The account differs from initial reports attributed to some surviving crew members, who told Pakistani media that gunfire was directed at hostages as Puntland forces approached the vessel. The conflicting accounts could not immediately be independently verified.
Puntland authorities confirmed the number of deaths and injuries but have not provided independent evidence establishing how the crew members died or the sequence of events during the operation.
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The PMPF said its forces arrested 21 people suspected of involvement in the hijacking during the operation, while others managed to escape. It said security forces had information about the whereabouts of those who fled and were conducting operations to locate them.
“The MT Honour 25 is now safe and under the control of the Puntland government forces,” the PMPF said, using the spelling “Honer 25” in parts of its statement.
The tanker was hijacked by pirates on April 21 while carrying fuel and travelling towards Mogadishu, according to Puntland authorities. It had 17 crew members aboard, including 10 Pakistani nationals, and had remained under pirate control for more than five months off Somalia's northeastern coast.
Families of the Pakistani crew members had repeatedly appealed to their government in recent months to accelerate efforts to secure their relatives' release.
The operation came only days after Puntland forces said they had freed another hijacked vessel, the MT Sibu 1, in a separate operation against pirates operating off the Puntland coast.
Puntland has pledged to continue operations against piracy and said those found to have participated in the hijacking of the Honour 25 would face legal action.
The latest operation comes as Somalia's northeastern coastline remains a focus of international efforts to curb a resurgence of piracy. Puntland authorities have sought to portray their maritime forces as a key part of efforts to prevent hijackings and protect commercial shipping along Somalia's coast.
About the Author
Ahmed Omar is a senior journalist for Somali Report, based in Mogadishu. He has two decades of experience reporting on Somalia for international and local media. He covers politics, security, governance, business, trade, economic developments and regional affairs.
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