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28 March 2024

Indian ship with 21 sailors hijacked from Oman

Published
By Reuters

An tanker managed by an Indian firm with 21 Indian sailors on board was hijacked on Saturday while at port in the Gulf state of Oman, India's government shipping agency said.

The Directorate General of Shipping said the M.V. Fairchem Bogey, an chemical-oil tanker, was hijacked while anchored in Salalah port. It was not clear if the ship was carrying cargo.

The hijacked vessel is managed by Mumbai-based Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, the statement said, adding that the Indian Navy had also been informed about the hijacking.

The statement gave no further details and there was no immediate comment from Salalah port.

Oman lies at the mouth of the Gulf, a strategic, heavily patrolled waterway which channels a bulk of the world's crude shipments.

Somali pirates behind similar vessel hijackings usually operate in Indian Ocean waters, but in January, a 20,586-tonne Algerian-flagged bulk carrier was seized about 150 miles southeast of Salalah.

The ship, with 27 crew from Algeria, Ukraine and the Philippines, was heading to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from Salalah with a cargo of clinker.