Special to WorldTribune.com

ABU DHABI — Despite international naval patrols, Somali piracy
continues in the Gulf region.

Somali pirates hijacked an oil tanker in the Arabian Sea 630 kilometers
from the coast of Oman on May 10.

The Liberian-flagged Smyrni, operated by a Greek company, was carrying 135,000 tons of oil and said to have been taken to Somalia.

“There were no security guards aboard the tanker when it was attacked by pirates,” an industry source said.

The hijacking of Smyrni took place on its second voyage and marked the first successful hijacking of an oil tanker off the Omani coast since
February 2011. The ship, set to sea in 2011 and operated by Greece’s Dynacom Tankers Management, contained a crew of 15, most of them Indians.

“Dynacom Tanker Management’s top priorities are the safe return of the ship and crew and the integrity of the cargo,” the company said. “All relevant authorities have been notified.”

Piracy was said to have declined by 30 percent in 2011 amid expanded
Western-led naval patrols as well as the deployment of security guards. But
industry sources said Somali pirates attacked ships near Oman several times
over the last month.

The International Maritime Bureau reported that 10 pirates, armed with
automatic weapons and aboard two skiffs, launched two attacks on Smyrni. In
the second assault, the pirates, directed by a nearby mother ship, boarded
and commandeered the tanker and crew.

  coast of Oman, Dynacom Tankers Management, International Maritime Bureau, Liberian-flagged Smyrni, Somali pirates hijack first oil tanker near Oman in over a year