Pirates have hijacked a Greek-owned oil tanker carrying 135,000 metric tonnes of crude oil while in the Arabian Sea, the first successful attack on an oil tanker off the Horn of Africa in more than a year.
Dynacom Tankers Management, which manages the vessel, said it had lost contact with the crew of the MT Smyrni, a Suezmax-class tanker, following the attack off Oman at 1115 GMT on Thursday.
"The Liberian-flagged Tanker, the MT Smyrni, is carrying a cargo of 135,000 MT of crude oil," it said.
| Quick! Someone call the Liberian Navy! |
Suezmax tankers typically can transport a crude oil cargo of up to one million barrels, compared with two to three million barrels for very large oil tankers.
Dynacom gave no further details but a Kenya-based piracy expert, Andrew Mwangura, said the vessel was headed for the Somali coastline.
Industry websites said the vessel had sailed from Turkey, but there were mixed reports about its destination.
"Aboard are nine Indians and about eight Filipinos," Mwangura, who is maritime editor of Somalia Report, a private regional news portal, said. "It is headed to Somalia." |