(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) A spate of attacks and suspicious approaches by suspected Somali-based pirates in the Strait of Hormuz and Sea of Oman on Sunday and Monday have been reported to several maritime security monitoring agencies.
On Monday morning, an Italy-flagged bulk carrier reported that it was being followed by six skiffs, approximately 62 nautical miles south east of Muscat in the Sea of Oman. According to the report, two skiffs closed to within one nautical mile of the vessel, had weapons and fuel barrels seen on board.
The embarked armed security team displayed their weapons as the merchant vessel engaged emergency protection measures, which forced the pirate action group to move away.
On Sunday, three separate incidents were recorded, including an attack on a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz off Oman's Musandam peninsula.
A skiff approached the tanker at around 20 knots, with the six occupants firing their weapons at the vessel. The ship's master ordered evasive measures and activated fire pumps to deter the attacks. On hearing the alarm, the skiff turned to the tanker's stern and moved away.
The attack was reported by US-led Maritime Liaison Office based in Bahrain.
The other incidents on Sunday were classed as ‘suspicious activity' by the NATO Shipping Centre.
In the first incident, two green coloured skiffs in military clothing, armed with machine guns, approached a merchant vessel ten miles north-east of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz. After some time, the skiffs turned away towards the Iranian coast.
The second suspicious approach was on a merchant vessel transiting in a similar area, which was approached to within two metres by two skiffs. The vessel carried out evasive manoeuvres for 25 minutes before the skiffs turned away.
A ladder was sighted in the skiffs.
Commenting on the incidents Glen Forbes, founder of OCEANUSLive maritime information sharing platform, said, ''The attack against the tanker is the first in a long time to feature the use of weapons since an attack 119 nautical miles south of Salalah on January 17. Monday's approach, which stated that weapons and ladders were observed, would indicate there is clearer intent against shipping taking into consideration the increase in suspicious activity reports off Oman in the first quarter of 2014.''
The only other instance of a report of weapons being sighted by merchant vessels was reported in the Sea of Oman on February 25. Another report of skiffs being sighted with ladders on February 28 was discounted by the Oman Coast Guard, who found them to be fishermen.
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