22 Indians Among Crews of Two Ships Hijacked by Armed Pirates Off Yemen, Somalia

Two commercial vessels carrying a combined 22 Indian crew members have been hijacked by armed pirates in separate incidents off Yemen and Somalia, according to a senior Shipping Ministry official.

The two incidents took place just days apart, but officials said all Indian sailors aboard both vessels are safe.

The first vessel, the Cameroon-flagged M/V LUTUF, was seized off Somalia’s Puntland coast on August 17. It had 10 crew members, including six Indians.

The second vessel, the Eritrea-flagged oil-products tanker M.T. Sibu 1, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen on August 20. The tanker had 20 crew members, including 16 Indians.

M.T. Sibu 1 Seized in Gulf of Aden

According to the official, six armed pirates boarded M.T. Sibu 1 and took control of the vessel.

The tanker, also referred to as Seamull or Sibu 1, issued a distress call on Thursday after armed men boarded it. The pirates reportedly forced the vessel to change course towards Somalia.

The ship was carrying 20 crew members, including 16 Indian sailors.

LUTUF Taken Towards Somalia

The M/V LUTUF was seized around 3.5 nautical miles from Marraya in Puntland’s Eyl district, according to a Somali official cited by The Associated Press.

Eight armed pirates reportedly boarded the Cameroon-flagged vessel using two skiffs. Armed with AK-47-type weapons, they took control of the ship and steered it towards Somalia’s Nugaal coast.

The crew initially moved to the vessel’s citadel for safety, but the pirates subsequently gained access and brought the sailors to the bridge. No injuries have been reported.

The 10-member crew included six Indians, one Turkish national, one Georgian national and two Serbian security guards.

The vessel was reportedly carrying Turkish weapons, communications equipment and satellite equipment bound for a Turkish military training facility in Mogadishu.

India Monitoring Both Incidents

Shipping Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that two foreign-flagged vessels were involved and said India was in contact with the relevant authorities.

“One had 16 Indian nationals on board, while the other had six,” Jaiswal said, adding that all the Indian crew members were reportedly safe.

The incidents come amid heightened maritime security concerns across the region, including around the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Hormuz, where geopolitical tensions have disrupted shipping routes.

India is a major supplier of maritime manpower globally, with more than 320,000 active seafarers in 2025, according to the Shipping Ministry. The safety of Indian sailors has therefore become an important concern as threats to commercial shipping increase across key international waterways.