GAROWE, Somalia, April 27 (Reuters) – Suspected pirates have boarded a St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged general cargo vessel off Somalia’s waters and were sailing it towards the Somali coastline, British maritime security groups Vanguard and Ambrey said.
Somali pirates caused havoc in the waters off the Horn of Africa nation’s long coastline between 2008 and 2018. After a lull, pirate activity started to pick up again in late 2023.
Vanguard said in a note late on Sunday it was aware of reports that armed pirates had hijacked the vessel, Sward, in the vicinity of Godobjiran, Somalia. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the incident occurred 6 nautical miles north-east of Garacad, describing it as a hijack.
The ship’s 15-person crew comprises two Indian nationals and 13 Syrians, Vanguard said.
“The vessel is currently assessed to be under pirate control and proceeding toward the Somali coastline. The Puntland Maritime Police Force has been notified,” it said.
Ambrey said in a separate statement the vessel had been sailing to Mombasa, Kenya from Suez, Egypt at the time it was boarded. All the crew were on the bridge except two mechanics, Ambrey said.
The assistant information minister of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland and Puntland security officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
In November 2025, armed assailants attacked a commercial tanker off the coast of Mogadishu, the first such incident since 2024.
(Reporting by George Obulutsa and Vincent Mumo Nzilani in Nairobi, Jonathan Saul in London, Abdiqani Hassan in Garowe,Somalia; Editing by Tom Hogue, Aidan Lewis)
