Somali pirates kill 5 crew on hijacked tanker before rescue by security forces
Somali pirates killed five crew members of the hijacked MT Honour 25 petroleum products tanker before it was rescued by security forces, Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland said on Tuesday.
The deaths aboard the Palau-flagged ship appear to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade.
The ship with 17 crew members was seized by pirates in April during a resurgence of Somali piracy that experts have attributed, in part, to impacts of the Iran war, including elevated oil prices that make tankers more attractive targets.
Puntland police said the MT Honour 25 had 18,500 barrels of oil on board when it was hijacked.