He described the waters as becoming too dangerous for seafarers and called for immediate and unconditional release of those held.

UKMTO Warning 118-26 and Update 001 report a tanker boarded by six armed persons 136 NM east of Al Mukalla on 20 August. The tanker had broadcast a distress on VHF 16 after being approached by an unauthorised vessel while westbound in the Gulf of Aden. The boarders redirected the ship toward Somalia. UKMTO does not name the hull.

JMIC Update 089 (ICOD 25 August) names the six vessels still held:

• Honour 25 (Palau-flagged product tanker), hijacked 21 April off the northern Somali coast.
• Sward (St Kitts and Nevis-flagged general cargo), hijacked 26 April, bound for Mombasa with fertilizer.
• Eureka (Togo-flagged product tanker), hijacked 2 May while at anchor off Qana, Shabwa, Yemen.
• Asana (Tanzania-flagged product/chemical tanker), hijacked 17 July, approximately 65 NM southwest of Mukalla.
• Lutuf (Cameroon-flagged dry bulk), hijacked 17 August off the Somali coast.
• Seamull (Sibu 1), Eritrea-flagged tanker, hijacked 20 August in the IRTC; at anchor near the Somali east coast.

The Lloyd’s List article of 25 August is paywalled after the lede. The same facts — six vessels since April, more than 90 seafarers held, IMO chief’s warning — are available from IMO, UKMTO and JMIC without it.

BMP Maritime Security and IMO MSC.1/Circ.1601/Rev.2 remain the current industry guidance. Transit with AIS, radar and visual in agreement. Report contacts to UKMTO.

Established

• UKMTO 118-26 / U001: tanker boarded 136 NM east of Al Mukalla, 20 Aug; six armed persons; redirected toward Somalia (official; hull not named on the paper).
• IMO 24 Aug: Seamull named; sixth vessel held; more than 90 seafarers captive (official).
• JMIC Update 089: six named hulls still held as of 25 Aug (official).

Not established

• Exact condition, location, or welfare of each crew beyond the IMO statement.
• That UKMTO 118-26 and Seamull / Sibu 1 are independently proven as the same hull on the UKMTO paper itself (JMIC and IMO make the identification).
• Current ransom, negotiation, or release status for any of the six.