A European Union anti-piracy force has freed the Maltese-flagged merchant tanker Hellas Aphrodite, which pirates had boarded off Somalia on Thursday, EU naval mission Operation ATALANTA said, amid a resurgence of piracy in the area.

The entire crew of 24 people on the Hellas Aphrodite is safe and no injuries have been reported, Operation ATALANTA said in a statement on Friday.

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On Thursday, attackers firing machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades boarded the ship off the coast of Somalia, United Kingdom officials said.

“The Master of a vessel has reported being approached by 1 small craft on its stern. The small craft fired small arms and RPG’s towards the vessel,” the British military’s UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said in an alert issued on Thursday. It warned ships in the area to “transit with caution”.

The private security firm Ambrey also said an attack was under way, saying it targeted a Malta-flagged tanker heading from Sikka, India, to Durban, South Africa.

Ambrey added that it appeared to be an assault by Somali pirates, who are reported to be operating in the area in recent days and who seized an Iranian fishing boat to use as a base of operations. Iran has not acknowledged the seizure of the fishing boat, called the Issamohamadi.

The UKMTO warned of another incident in the same area on Friday.

It said a small vessel carrying three people, believed to be part of the same pirate group responsible for the seizure of the Hellas Aphrodite, tried to get close to another ship, but the ship outran the pirate vessel.

Thursday’s attack came after another vessel, the Cayman Islands-flagged Stolt Sagaland, found itself targeted in a suspected pirate attack that involved both its armed security force and the attackers shooting at each other, the EU force said.

Piracy off Somalia peaked in 2011 when 237 attacks were reported. Somali piracy in the region in 2011 cost the world’s economy about $7bn with $160m paid out in ransoms, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.

The threat was diminished by increased international naval patrols, a strengthened central government in Somalia and other efforts.

However, Somali piracy has surged again since late 2023. According to Solace Global Risk, a travel risk management company, the decline in antipiracy patrols and the relocation of funds to counter Houthi rebels activities contributed to the rise in attacks.

In 2024, there were seven reported incidents off Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau. So far this year, multiple fishing boats have been seized by Somali pirates.