Five crewmembers killed after Somali pirate seizure of oil tanker

In April, the MT Hoarner 25 was seized by six armed men off the coast of Somalia as it carried 18,500 barrels of crude on its way to Mogadishu.

Puntland Deputy Information Minister Bile Qabowsade told the BBC that five crew members—three Pakistanis, an Indian and a Myanmar national—were killed before Puntland forces boarded the vessel and retook control. Four others were injured.

Authorities say sixteen suspected pirates were arrested, while others escaped and are still being pursued.

Qabowsade rejected claims that Puntland troops had helped some pirates flee, and said he could not provide details on how the crew were killed or how the hijack was carried out.

The tanker had been anchored between the fishing towns of Xaafun and Bander Beyla when the attack unfolded. At the time of the seizure, the crew comprised 10 Pakistanis, four Indonesians, one Indian, one Sri Lankan and a Myanmar national, a figure that has since shrunk to five dead and four wounded.

Piracy off the Somali coast, which was curtailed sharply after 2011 due to international naval operations, has been climbing again in recent years.