The 105,846 dwt Arab Maritime Petroleum Transport Company tanker Zirku was hijacked by Somali pirates today. EU Navfor says the ship was pirated at approximately 0900 GMT, approximately 250 nautical miles southeast of Salalah in the eastern part of the Gulf of Aden

The UAE flagged and Kuwaiti owned vessel was on its way to Singapore from Bashayer (Sudan) when it was attacked.  The vessel was attacked by two pirate skiffs firing RPGs and small arms. The MV ZIRKU has a crew of 29 (one Croatian, one Iraqi, one Filipino, one Indian, three Jordanians, three Eqyptians, two Ukrainians and 17 Pakistanis). There is no further information about the crew at present.

The MV ZIRKU was registered with MSC(HOA), and was reporting to UKMTO.  EU Navfor is continuing to monitor the situation.

March 28, 2011