KARACHI: Somali maritime police said on Tuesday that they had recovered the MT Honour 25 — an oil tanker hijacked by armed pirates off the coast of Puntland on April 21 — amid reports of casualties among the crew.

The Honour 25 — a Palau-flagged oil tanker — had 19 crew members on board, including 10 Pakistanis.

“The naval and ground units of the Puntland Maritime Police Force conducted a planned operation in the Dharin-Bar area of Bandar Beyla district,” the maritime police said in its initial statement.

In another late-night statement, it announced that the operation had concluded and the recovered vessel “is now safe and under the Puntland government’s control”.

During the operation, it said, 21 suspected pirates were apprehended, while operations to locate the remaining members continue.

“Before the operation begun, the pirates on board the ship killed five of the crew. Among those killed were three from Pakistan, one from Myanmar and one from India,” it said.

Four crew members — three Pakistanis and one Indian — were also injured, the statement added.

Reuters earlier reported, citing Puntland’s state television, that the detained pirates would be brought to court.

No further details of the operation were available from any of the official sources.

Dawn contacted the Foreign Office (FO) for further information, but there was no immediate response.

Reports of casualties

Meanwhile, Ayesha Ameen, the wife of a fitter on the ship, told Dawn between sobs that there were reports of casualties among Pakistanis on the ship.

She said that they were not able to confirm the names of the deceased yet, but her husband, Ameen Bin Shams, was reportedly among the injured.

“We don’t know how bad the injuries are,” she said.

“We are trying to establish contact with the ship’s captain on the numbers that we have. But our calls are not being answered.

“As far as we know, the bodies are still on the ship, as are the injured. There is no one to tell us if they will be moved. We are going mad here,” she added.

Initial reports attributed to the crew suggest that there have been five deaths and four people have been injured.

Apart from Pakistanis, the vessel’s crew also included seven Indonesians, an Indian and a Sri Lankan.

After its hijacking in April, months had passed with no progress either in negotiations or the payment of the ransom, said to be around $3 million, for the recovery of the hostages.

The hostages were said to be victims of an “ownership crisis”, as it was not clearly established who owned the ship — the man previously thought to be an owner was later revealed to be more likely a middleman who hired them.

Since its hijack, the crew had made several emotional videos and audio appeals, reporting that they had run out of clean water, food and medicine. Meanwhile, their families launched an international appeal, calling on foreign governments, the United Nations (UN) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to take coordinated action to help secure the release of their loved ones.

For its part, the FO maintained that it remained “actively engaged” to secure the release of the sailors.

Last month, in a meeting with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) head, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar pressed for “urgent and effective institutional intervention” for the return of the Pakistani sailors.

The pirates had also contacted humanitarian Ansar Burney, who had also tried to help in resolving the matter.

Ansar Burney — a former human rights minister — is the chairman of the Ansar Burney Trust, a non-profit human rights organisation working in all areas of human and civil rights worldwide. He has previously participated in efforts to free Pakistanis captured by Somali pirates.

After Tuesday’s operation, the Ansar Burney Trust said in a statement that the IMO had contacted it and ensured of cooperation for the return of the injured crew and bodies to their home countries.

It said it was in contact with relevant authorities, international institutions and the vessel’s crew and was making continued efforts for the return of the injured and the bodies.

Somali piracy has seen a resurgence, with at least 15 attacks since April, the highest since 2013.

Additional input from AFP and Reuters