Somali pirates kill five crew on hijacked tanker off Puntland

Somali authorities say pirates killed five crew members aboard the Palau-flagged tanker MT Honour 25 before a rescue operation freed the vessel off the coast of Somalia. The incident was announced on Tuesday by officials in Puntland, the semiautonomous region where the operation took place. Authorities said the ship had been seized on 21 April and was carrying 18,500 barrels of oil.

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The Puntland Information Ministry said a rescue mission captured 16 suspected pirates and brought the tanker back under government control. The ministry said the killings happened before the operation began. It said the dead crew members included three people from Pakistan, one from Myanmar and one from India.

Four other crew members, three Pakistanis and one Indian, were injured in the attack. The Puntland Maritime Police Force said the vessel was safe and under government control after the operation. Officials also said efforts were continuing to identify and detain others involved in the hijacking.

The rescue came after another operation last week in which the maritime police freed the tanker Sibu 1, which had also been hijacked by Somali pirates. The killings are being described by officials as the first attributed to Somali pirates in more than a decade. That makes the case significant beyond the immediate loss of life, because it points to a renewed threat to shipping in waters that were once among the world's most dangerous.

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A previous wave of piracy between 2008 and 2014 disrupted a major global trade route, drove up security costs and led to large ransom payments. Officials and analysts have linked the recent rise in attacks to wider instability at sea, and authorities said at least 15 attacks have been reported off Somalia since April. The latest incident also comes after the Sibu 1 operation exposed weaknesses in detention and transfer procedures, when 28 of 41 arrested pirates later escaped while being moved to jail.

Puntland security officials accused local police of complicity in that case. What remains unclear is whether all those involved in the MT Honour 25 hijacking have been detained and what charges they may face. It is also not yet clear how the injured crew members are being treated or whether the vessel will remain in Puntland custody.

The case is likely to intensify scrutiny of maritime security in the region and of the ability of local forces to hold suspects after rescue operations.

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