Tanker reportedly hijacked hundreds of miles off Somali coastpublished at 11:23 GMT
11:23 GMT
Joshua Cheetham
BBC Verify journalist
We’re investigating reports that a Malta-flagged tanker has been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia this morning.
Maritime security firm Vanguard says the Hellas Aphrodite came under fire from people aboard an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel. Another firm, Ambrey Intelligence, says the fuel ship was boarded by attackers around 628 miles (1,010km) from Somalia.
Vanguard says the fishing vessel, registered as “314055ISSAMOHAHMDI”, has been involved in three other recent incidents.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency has confirmed an “illegal boarding” has taken place in the area, with a vessel coming under attack by “small arms and RPGs”. But it has not confirmed any more details.
We’ve contacted the owner of the Hellas Aphrodite for information. According to vessel-tracking website MarineTraffic, the ship is travelling from Sikka in India to the South African port of Durban. Its last location was received by the platform at 08:13 GMT, several hundred miles east of Somalia.