The crew consists of 10 Pakistanis, four Indonesians, one Indian, one Sri Lankan, and one from Myanmar, officials said. Five more armed men have since boarded the vessel. According to the ShipAtlas website, the hijacked ship departed the port of Berbera in Somaliland on 20 February and arrived near the coast of the UAE shortly after the US-Israel war with Iran began.
The shipping map shows the ship circling near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz before turning around on 2 April and heading towards Mogadishu. The vessel is now anchored close to the Somali shore between the fishing towns of Xaafun and Bander Beyla. Officials believe the hijackers set off from a remote area near Bander Beyla.
Piracy had almost disappeared in this area until three years ago but has since made a comeback with fishing trawlers or container ships targeted. The seizure of a tanker headed for Mogadishu is likely to increase anxiety in the city where petrol prices have already tripled since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran. Neither the Somali authorities nor the European Naval Force has released a statement on the hijacking.