Chemical tanker repulses pirates attack off Somali coast

A Singapore flagged chemical tanker escaped an attack by suspected Somali pirates off the coast of Somalia Friday, the EU naval force has said.

EUNAVFOR said in a statement Friday two skiffs attacked the 50,000 metric tonne chemical tanker 160 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia. The tanker was sailing from Sohar, Sultanate of Oman to Cape Town, South Africa.

“The skiffs approached the MT Leopard Sun from the stern and fired upon her, after which the on-board Private Armed Security Team returned fire with warning shots.” The crew and the vessel are safe, the statement read in part.

The incident lasted approximately 20 minutes before the skiffs eventually turned away,” the naval force said.

This attack, which is likely to be piracy related, was the first such incident since the attack on the MV EVER DYNAMIC in November 2017, EUNAVFOR said.