Reports also say that one Indian and three Pakistanis, who were also crew members of the hijacked Palau-flagged tanker ‘Honour 25’, were injured.

Reports also say that one Indian and three Pakistanis, who were also crew members of the hijacked Palau-flagged tanker ‘Honour 25’, were injured.

Reports also say that one Indian and three Pakistanis, who were also crew members of the hijacked Palau-flagged tanker ‘Honour 25’, were injured.

An Indian was among the five crew members of the abducted tanker Honour 25 (IMO: 1099735), who were killed on Tuesday by Somali pirates.

Identified as Mohammed Tanweeruz Zaman, he was a cook aboard the Palau-flagged ship that had been taken hostage by the pirates back in April this year.

The other four killed crew members included three from Pakistan and one from Myanmar, according to authorities from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. Reports also say that one Indian and three Pakistanis were injured.

They were among the 17 people who had been taken hostage when the ship carrying about 18,500 barrels of crude oil was hijacked en route to Mogadishu.

THE WEEK had earlier reported that the Honour 25 had been among the three vessels taken hostage by the Somali pirates earlier in this year, which prompted International Maritime Organization (IMO) chief Arsenio Dominguez to issue an urgent appeal for the safety of the 44 seafarers onboard.

ALSO READ | Indians among 44 seafarers still held hostage by Somali pirates, IMO chief raises alarm over humanitarian crisis

The other two ships, abducted by the pirates from the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia, were the oil tanker Eureka (IMO: 1022823), as well as the cargo ship Sward (IMO: 9174244).

“During the time of hijacking, usually, all seafarers are kept in a confined space, but the cooks are left (free) just to provide meals to all of them, including the hijackers. What made them kill this person…needs to be clarified,” Manoj Yadav, the Secretary-General of the Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI), told Arab News, confirming that Zaman’s family had received photographs of his remains on Wednesday.

In another post, the seafarers' union has also highlighted the grave injuries on the killed cook’s body, as well as the reaction of his family, which had been appealing for his safe return for months.

How did the killings take place?

Reports differ on when the seafarers were attacked by the pirates.

According to the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF), the pirates had killed the five crew members “before the government forces launched their operation”.

It added that the crackdown operation on the pirates was ultimately successful, as all the vessels being held in the Puntland region by pirates had been freed, although one ship in a neighbouring state remains under pirate control.

However, local media reports claim that the five crew members were killed after an exchange of gunfire between the pirates and the PMPF. One report even alleged that the pirates wanted to flee the vessel and had offered to surrender.

The PMPF is now tracking down the remaining pirates who fled to the shore and inland, while the FSUI and Zaman’s family have appealed to have his remains repatriated to India.

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