EU and Indian navies take over ship used by Somali pirates to seize Malta-flagged tanker

The European Union and Indian navies have taken over a ship used by pirates off the coast of Somalia that was used to seize a Malta-flagged tanker, the EU force said Wednesday.

The Iranian fishing vessel, the Issamohamadi, had been abandoned off Somalia following the seizure last week of the Hellas Aphrodite, which had been carrying a load of gasoline from India to South Africa.

The pirates used the Issamohamadi, a type of traditional ship known across the Persian Gulf as a dhow, as a "mother ship" for a series of assaults capped by their taking of the tanker.

A team from the ESPS Victoria, a Spanish frigate, boarded the dhow on 7 November and said the Issamohamadi's 24-strong crew on board were in "good condition, safe and free."

Iran has not acknowledged the seizure of the ship.

The pirate group "operating in the area has been definitely disrupted," the EU naval force's Operation Atalanta said in a statement.

EU forces "have gathered evidence and intelligence of the incident that together with the evidence collected on board Merchant Tanker Hellas Aphrodite, will be submitted to support the legal prosecution of the perpetrators."

Piracy off the Somali coast peaked in 2011, when 237 attacks were reported.

Somali piracy in the region that year cost the world’s economy some $7 billion (€6 billion), with $160 million (€138 million) paid out in ransoms, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.

The threat was diminished by increased international naval patrols, a strengthening central government in Somalia and other efforts.

However, Somali pirate attacks have resumed at a greater pace over the last year, in part due to the insecurity caused by Yemen’s Houthi rebels launching attacks on Red Sea shipping in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The Houthis have since signalled they've stopped their attacks as a shaky ceasefire holds in the Strip.

In 2024, there were seven reported incidents off Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

So far this year, multiple fishing boats have been seized by Somali pirates. The Hellas Aphrodite represents the first commercial ship seized by pirates since May 2024.