Somali pirates hijack ship carrying six Indian sailors
The vessel’s crew and arms cargo remain publicly unaccounted for, and details of a subsequent airstrike near the hijacking area remain unverified.
reede, 21. august 2026 08:10
Six Indians were aboard a Cameroon-flagged cargo ship hijacked by pirates off Somalia’s Puntland coast on August 17, a Somali official said Thursday.
The M/V LUTUF, carrying a 10-member crew, was seized about three and a half nautical miles off Marraya in Puntland’s Eyl district and taken toward the Nugaal coast. The crew included six Indians, one Turkish national, one Georgian and two Serbian security guards, The Hindu reported.
The ship, owned by Polar Movement Shipping, was carrying Turkish weapons bound for a Turkish military training facility in Mogadishu, as well as communications and satellite equipment, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss sensitive information publicly.
There was no immediate comment from Turkish authorities. The official said eight pirates, believed to be members of a group previously involved in the hijacking of the M/V Sward on April 26, took the vessel toward the coast near Garmaal in Puntland’s Dangoroyo district.
Two Turkish-owned vessels later approached the hijacked ship, while Turkish helicopters and drones monitored the area, the official said. On Tuesday, a small boat carrying two men delivered khat, a stimulant commonly chewed in Somalia, before returning to shore.
An airstrike followed, killing four men and wounding two others, the official said. “The circumstances of the strike, including who carried it out and whether those killed were involved in the hijacking, couldn't immediately be independently verified,” the report said, adding that the status of the LUTUF, its crew and cargo was not immediately clear.
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