Pirates seized a merchant ship in the Red Sea over the weekend and, according to media reports, have taken it south towards Somalia. The vessel, identified as the MV Marzooqah, sent a distress signal on Saturday evening in the Red Sea and was then turned towards the Gulf of Aden, Andrew Mwangura, secretary general of the Seafarers Union of Kenya, reportedly confirmed to the UK Telegraph. This follows on the heels of a successfully thwarted hijacking attempt last Friday, as reported by The Handy Shipping Guide. On January 17, an oil tanker transiting the Gulf was reportedly attacked. According to the daily online maritime site, the unnamed ship immediately contacted the UK Maritime Trade Operation as small arms fire rained inward. The vessel was however carrying its own private security team who stated that they had offered a ‘graduated response’ which rapidly escalated to what they refer to as ‘robust’. The Handy Shipping Guide reported that this reaction was enough to scare off the miscreants who were operating from a skiff with a dhow acting as its mother ship.
Two Somali pirate attacks – one thwarted, one successful
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