The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said late on Sunday that a cargo vessel had been hijacked off Somalia’s northeastern coast near Garacad.

The Bangladeshi cargo vessel was hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean and around 23 people on board were taken hostage, the vessel’s owner has said.

The vessel, MV Abdullah, was sailing with a cargo of 55,000 tonnes of coal when it was attacked by pirates on Tuesday and is now heading in the direction of Somalia.

According to a UKMTO warning, the incident occurred about six nautical miles northeast of Garacad.

A third-party report said unauthorised individuals had taken control of the cargo vessel and redirected it into Somali territorial waters.

The warning followed a separate hijacking advisory issued by the UKMTO on Saturday involving a tanker seized off Somali waters.

Military authorities reported unauthorised persons took control of the vessel on Tuesday and maneuvered it about 77 nautical miles south within Somali territorial waters.

According to media reports, the tanker, identified as Honour 25, was carrying 17 crew members and 18,500 barrels of oil destined for the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Reports said the hijacking could worsen fuel shortages in the city, where gasoline prices have surged amid tensions in the Middle East.

The UKMTO said the latest incidents point to an increased threat from organised pirate activity in Somali waters, advising vessels transiting the area to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity while investigations continue.

Piracy off Somalia, once among the gravest maritime security threats in the world, had declined sharply over the past decade, but recent incidents have renewed concerns over a possible resurgence

 “A group of 15-20 Somali pirates hijacked the ship,” said Meherul Karim, chief executive officer of Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills, the owner of the vessel.

The bulk commodity carrier was sailing from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates and was attacked in the Indian Ocean about 600 nautical miles east of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, said maritime security firm Ambrey.

There has been a resurgence of attacks by opportunistic pirates in recent months.

They compound a security crisis in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, where Houthi rebels have launched attacks on vessels, prompting retaliatory measures from the US and UK.

With international naval forces diverted north from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea, fears of such attacks have increased as pirates exploit the security gap.

Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills released an audio message from one of the crew members who had been taken hostage. He said the gunmen came in two speedboats and opened fire as they boarded the vessel.

The Indian navy captured 10 Somali pirates after they thwarted the attempted hijacking of the fishing vessel Al Naeemi off the east coast of Somalia, on 29 January, 2024

• A Tell Media / Xinhua report/ Additional reporting by The Independent