Three Pakistani sailors killed as Somali police free hijacked tanker

Three Pakistani sailors were killed when pirates opened fire during a Somali operation on Tuesday to free the MT Honour 25, an oil tanker that had been held for more than five months, according to survivors who spoke to the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust.

Somalia’s Puntland Maritime Police Force, working with Somali government forces, recovered the tanker off Dharin-Bar in Bandar Beyla district. The force said on X that “21 suspected pirates were apprehended”, and that efforts were continuing to find the rest, The Express Tribune reported.

The Pakistanis who died

Five crew members were killed when the pirates fired as they retreated, the survivors said. Three of them were Pakistani:

• Kashif Umar, second officer
• Mahmood Ansari, third engineer
• Rafiullah, boiler operator

An Indian crew member named Tanveer and the ship’s chief engineer, from Myanmar, were also killed. Four crew members were injured.

The details were confirmed by Advocate Qurat-ul-Ain, director of the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust, after she spoke to two surviving Pakistani sailors, Hussain Yousuf and Imran Ali, who reached the trust using the captain’s phone.

The Pakistanis who survived

The surviving Pakistani sailors named in the report include:

• Yasir Khan
• Hussain Yousuf
• Imran Ali
• Yaseen

Five months in captivity

Pirates seized the tanker off Puntland in north-eastern Somalia on April 21, while it was sailing from Oman to Somalia, according to The Express Tribune. It was carrying 18,500 barrels of oil, and 10 of its crew were Pakistani.

The pirates first demanded a ransom of $3 million, then lowered it to $1.9 million and later to $1 million. Disputes over who owned the ship complicated the negotiations for months, Dawn reported.

Before fleeing, the pirates damaged the ship’s steering. Somali naval forces are towing the tanker to shore, which is expected to take at least two days. The bodies and the injured remain on board.

Some details still unclear

Reports so far differ on some details. Dawn described the ship as Palau-flagged with 19 crew (10 Pakistanis, 7 Indonesians, one Indian and one Sri Lankan), while The Express Tribune described 17 crew. Pakistan’s Foreign Office did not immediately respond to questions, and families are still waiting for official confirmation.

The Ansar Burney Trust said the International Maritime Organization had promised cooperation to return the injured crew and the bodies to their home countries.

A surge in piracy

The hijacking came as piracy off Somalia returned. There have been more than 15 attacks since April, the highest rate since 2013.

Why it matters

For the families of the 10 Pakistani crewmen, five months of waiting has ended in grief for some and relief for others. The Foreign Office must now confirm the fate of every Pakistani on board and bring home the survivors and the bodies of Kashif Umar, Mahmood Ansari and Rafiullah quickly. With piracy back on the rise off Somalia, the safety of Pakistani seafarers on foreign-flagged ships is a question the government can no longer leave to chance.

This article draws on reporting by The Express Tribune and Dawn.