Kenya offers help as 22 Indian seafarers reportedly safe after hijackings
Two vessels hijacked off Yemen and Somalia. (Image courtesy: Vessel Finder)
New Delhi: The Indian High Commission in Kenya said on Friday that 22 Indian seafarers aboard two foreign-flagged vessels, MT Sibu and MV Lutuf, are reportedly safe after the vessels were hijacked in separate incidents off Yemen and Somalia. The mission said it has taken up the matter with the concerned authorities in Somalia.
“We have taken up the matter of Indian seafarers onboard vessels MT Sibu (Eritrea-flagged) and MV Lutuf (Cameroon-flagged) with the concerned authorities in Somalia,” the mission said in a post on X. “It is understood that there are reportedly 16 Indian seafarers onboard MT Sibu and 6 Indian seafarers onboard MV Lutuf. All Indian seafarers are reportedly safe.”
The first hijacking involved the Eritrea-flagged oil tanker MT Sibu, which was seized in the Gulf of Aden on August 20, about 30 nautical miles off the Yemeni coast. The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said six armed men boarded the vessel and later diverted it towards Somalia.
There were 20 crew members aboard the tanker, including 16 Indians. The remaining crew comprised one Syrian, one Sudanese and one Iraqi national, while the nationality of another crew member has not been confirmed. The tanker had also previously been sanctioned by the US over allegations that it was involved in transporting Iranian petroleum products.
The other vessel, MV Lutuf, was seized three days earlier, on August 17, off Somalia’s Puntland coast. The Cameroon-flagged vessel was approached by eight armed men in two skiffs near Marraya in the Eyl district, RNA Media reported earlier.
The crew initially moved into the ship’s citadel, a fortified area designed to protect them during an attack. The pirates were nevertheless able to enter the area, after which the crew was taken to the bridge.
There were 10 people aboard MV Lutuf, including six Indians. The others were one Turkish national, one Georgian national and two Serbian security guards. The vessel’s owner, Polar Movement Shipping, said the ship was carrying weapons and communications equipment for a Turkish military training facility in Mogadishu when it was seized and later taken towards Somalia’s Nugaal coast.
The Ministry of External Affairs also addressed the incidents on Friday in a weekly media briefing. MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said the two vessels are registered under foreign flags and have 22 Indian seafarers on board, 16 on one vessel and six on the other.
“As far as we know so far, they are safe,” Jaiswal said, adding that India is in touch with the relevant authorities to ensure their “security and well-being.”
Jaiswal was also asked about a video released by the Forward Seamen’s Union of India over a separate incident involving Indian sailors on April 22. The union alleged that personnel from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy had harassed the sailors.
Jaiswal did not link that incident to the two latest cases, but said the government regularly takes up such matters concerning Indian seafarers with the relevant authorities. “The welfare and safety of our seafaring community is a matter which we take very seriously,” he said.
The incidents have also put the focus on the large number of Indians working at sea. The 2026 BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report places India second only to the Philippines in the global supply of seafarers, with nearly 312,000 Indian seafarers working in the industry.
