NEW DELHI: Twenty-two Indian nationals were aboard two commercial vessels seized by pirates in separate incidents off Yemen and Somalia over a three-day span, a senior shipping ministry official said on Friday.
Officials said the Indian crew members on both vessels were safe, according to the latest information available.
The larger group of Indians was aboard the Eritrea-flagged oil products tanker MT Sibu 1, which was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on August 20.
The vessel had a crew of 20, including 16 Indian nationals, according to the official.
Armed pirates took control of the tanker while it was around 30 nautical miles off the Yemen coast.
The other incident took place on August 17 off the Puntland coast of Somalia.
A Cameroon-flagged cargo ship carrying 10 crew members was hijacked by pirates. Six of those aboard were Indian nationals, the official said.
The two incidents together account for 22 Indians aboard the hijacked vessels.
Officials said the latest information available to them indicated that the Indian crew members were safe. - The statesman/ANN
