The latest attack on ships in the Indian Ocean saw suspected Somali pirates boarding and taking control of a Sri Lankan fishing vessel with six crew members, the navy of Colombo said on January 28, Report informs referring to FirstPost.
“Our information is that they were captured by Somali pirates,” said Sri Lankan navy spokesman Gayan Wickramasuriya, adding that the Lorenzo Putha–4 had been seized on Saturday some 840 nautical miles southeast of the Somali capital Mogadishu.
In reaction to Israel’s battle against the Palestinian terrorist organisation Hamas, Yemen’s Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have conducted many strikes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that are aimed at Israeli-affiliated boats.
With the first successful Somali piracy case since 2017, international naval troops have been redirected northward from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea, raising concerns of resurgent pirates taking advantage of the opening.