MOGADISHU, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Maritime forces from Somalia's Puntland State have rescued the Palau-flagged oil tanker MT Honor (Honor 25) off the coast of Bandarbeyla in northeastern Somalia.
In a statement released Tuesday evening, the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) confirmed that the vessel and its 17 crew members were safe.
Held since April 21, the ship was freed in an operation that resulted in the arrest of 16 Somali pirates, while five crew members were killed by the hijackers before the rescue operation.
"The vessel is now safe and under Puntland government control. During the operation, 16 suspected pirates were apprehended, while operations to locate the remaining members continue," the security force said in a statement.
According to the PMPF, the pirates killed three Pakistani nationals, one Indian national and one Myanmar national. Four other crew members, including three Pakistanis and one Indian, were wounded during the ordeal, the PMPF said.
The vessel, which was hijacked while carrying 18,500 barrels of fuel bound for Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, was freed during a targeted operation after an intelligence-led intervention disrupted the hijackers' defense plans.
This marked the second successful anti-piracy rescue operation conducted by Puntland maritime forces within a month.
Somalia's extensive coastline remains vulnerable to piracy despite years of international naval patrols and counter-piracy operations. ■
