Russian Tanker Attacked by Pirates near Somalia's Coast

A Russian tanker was attacked by pirates near the coast of Somalia.

As RIA Novosti was told in the press service of the Prymorye Sea Shipping Line, the Monneron tanker belonging to the company, which was carrying petrol, was attacked on its way from the Yanbu port (Saudi Arabia) to the port of Mombasa (Kenya). It was attacked on February 22nd but this has become known only now.

According to the press service, two boats with pirates approached the tanker at a distance of fifty metres and demanded that the ship stop. Three people in one boat and four in the other were armed with automatic weapons and grenade-launchers.

The crew of the tanker hid in the inner premises of the craft, and its speed was increased to the maximum. The captain immediately contacted the anti-pirate centre in Kuala Lumpur by phone and informed it of the incident. For their part, the specialists of the centre informed the command of the French naval force in Djibouti. All the ships, which were in the area of the incident, were also informed of the attack of the pirates.

The assailants fired three shots at the tanker from grenade-launchers and pursued the tanker for nearly an hour but the Monneron managed to escape. None of the crewmen was hurt.