Kuwait foils attack on large oil tanker by Somali pirates

Special to WorldTribune.com

ABU DHABI — Kuwait has foiled a pirate attack against a huge oil tanker in the Gulf.

OilTankerKuwait Oil Tanker Co. said one of its vessels came under attack from pirates during a voyage to Djibouti. The company said the crew of the Burgan tanker confronted and drove off the pirates without injuries, Middle East Newsline reported.

“They operated according to standard security procedures,” Kuwait Oil Tanker chief executive officer Talal Al Khaled said.

The attack on Feb. 8 marked a rare attempt by Somali-based pirates to capture an oil tanker. Burgan, owned by the Kuwaiti company, was loaded with 40,303 tons of aviation fuel and was moving through the Gulf of Aden to the Horizon terminal in Djibouti.

Officials said the Indian Navy, with a counter-piracy contingent in the Gulf of Aden, also participated in driving off the attackers on Burgan. They said the pirates approached Burgan on four boats.

“A squad specialized to deal with such situations was aboard the vessel and took part in combating the pirates, who approached it on four boats,” the official Kuwait News Agency said on Feb. 9.

Piracy has dropped sharply in the Gulf of Aden since 2011. But in February 2015, two Iranian oil tankers were confronted by pirates, who failed to board the vessels.

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