Pirates seize cargo ship carrying Turkish arms off Somalia's coast
Pirates hijacked a Cameroon-flagged cargo ship carrying Turkish weapons off Somalia's Puntland coast; crew and cargo status unclear.
Pirates have hijacked a Cameroon-flagged cargo vessel off the coast of Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region, according to a Somali official who spoke on condition of anonymity on Thursday.
The M/V LUTUF was seized on Monday approximately 3.5 nautical miles from Marraya in Puntland's Eyl district. The vessel was transporting weapons destined for a Turkish military training facility in Mogadishu, along with communications and satellite equipment, the official said.
The ship, owned by Polar Movement Shipping, has a 10-member crew comprising six Indians, one Turkish national, one Georgian, and two Serbian security guards.
The official stated that eight pirates, believed to be linked to a group involved in the earlier hijacking of the M/V Sward on April 26, steered the vessel toward the coast near Garmaal in Puntland's Dangoroyo district.
Two Turkish-owned vessels subsequently approached the hijacked ship, while Turkish helicopters and drones monitored the area. On Tuesday, a small boat delivered khat, a stimulant commonly chewed in Somalia, to the vessel. After the boat returned to shore, an airstrike killed four men and wounded two others, the official said.
The circumstances of the strike—including who carried it out and whether those killed were involved in the hijacking—could not be independently verified. The current status of the LUTUF, its crew, and its cargo remains unclear. Turkish authorities have not yet commented on the incident.