Two commercial vessels carrying a total of 22 Indian nationals have been hijacked in separate incidents off Yemen and Somalia, according to officials and maritime security reports.
The Seamull tanker, also known as SIBU 1, with 16 Indians among its 20-member crew issued a distress call as it was approached 136 nautical miles east of Al Mukalla, Yemen, according to shipping monitor Vanguard.
"The tanker has reportedly been boarded by six armed persons, who are now in control of the vessel and redirecting it towards Somalia," said the EU's Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO).
Reports said the crew was safe, although the vessel's movements were being monitored.
The United States sanctioned the Seamull tanker in December last year as one of the vessels in Iran's "shadow fleet" accused of exporting Iranian oil using deceptive shipping practices.
It is one of four operated by UAE-based Qatrat Alnada Almasi Ship Management that transported Iranian petroleum products, including naphtha and gasoil, on multiple occasions and made port calls to Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen.
Separately, the Cameroon-flagged M/V LUTUF was hijacked off Somalia's Puntland coast on August 17. The vessel has six Indian nationals among its 10-member crew and was carrying Turkish military equipment, communications and satellite equipment, according to an AP report citing a Somali official. The condition of the crew remains unclear.
The two incidents come amid a reported resurgence of Somali piracy, with several merchant vessels already being held by pirate groups in the region.
Piracy was rampant off the coast of Somalia in the 2000s and peaked in 2011 before being curbed by international naval deployments and new security measures for commercial shipping.
But attacks have surged again since April, with five cargo ships currently held hostage, most recently a vessel that was seized near the Somali coast on Monday.
According to reports, authorities and maritime security agencies are continuing to monitor the situation and assess the safety of the Indian crew members.
(With inputs from AFP)