A pirate flag. After peaking in 2011, acts of piracy have decreased with the deployment of international warships. (AFP)

NAIROBI - Attackers boarded a ship off the coast of Somalia on Thursday, a British maritime security agency warned, after two recent incidents raised fears of a resurgence in piracy.

The Horn of Africa country was once notorious for its pirate raids but has not seen such an attack in months.

The vessel, run by Greek firm Latsco Marine Management, was attacked shortly before midday by armed assailants while travelling to South Africa from India.

"All 24 crew are safe and accounted for, and we remain in close contact with them," the firm said in a statement, declining to provide any further information for security reasons.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre said the boat, the Hellas Aphrodite, was approached from the stern by a small vessel.

"The small craft fired small arms and RPGs ( rocket-propelled grenades) towards the vessel," it said, before being boarded by "unauthorised personnel".

Authorities are conducting an investigation, UKMTO added.

The European Union's anti-piracy naval force said in a statement on X that it was close to the incident and "ready to take appropriate actions to respond effectively to this piracy alert".

Maritime news agency Lloyds List said there was no security on board at the time of the attack.

The attack comes three days after a failed attempt to board the MV Stolt Sagaland tanker off the coast of Somalia.

Four people attempted to seize the ship on Monday, according to a bulletin from the French Maritime Information Cooperation and Awareness Center (MICA).

A security team repelled the boarders after an exchange of fire, according to the same source.

The day before, a small boat approached the FV Intertuna Tres, but moved away after the ship sounded its sirens, according to MICA.

High threat

Maritime security firm Ambrey said Wednesday that a "Somali Pirate Action Group" was operating off Somalia's coast, and suggested they were using a boat hijacked in late October as a "mothership" for their activities.

They warned the incidents indicated a "heightened risk within the Indian Ocean" area.
Timothy Walker, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, said that while it was "too soon to tell", he believed "the threat of a resurgence has not been this high since 2013".

The end of the monsoon season means smaller boats can travel further from the coast, he said, opening up the seas for the highly lucrative business of capturing and ransoming crews.

He added that the local maritime force had become more focused on land issues, providing an opening for these "very opportunistic attacks".

The region, bordered to the north by the Gulf of Aden and to the east by the Indian Ocean,has historically been haven for piracy.

After peaking in 2011, acts of piracy have decreased with the deployment of international warships and the creation of the Puntland Maritime Police Force in the northeast Somali state.

However, a series of incidents in 2024 also fuelled concerns about a resurgence of Indian Ocean raids by opportunistic pirates exploiting a security gap after the redeployment of international forces.