Omani naval authorities fought off a pirate attack on a Liberian-flagged vessel on Friday, less than two weeks after a chemical tanker was snatched just a couple of miles off the country’s coastline.
The attack on the unnamed vessel took place around 34 nautical miles southwest of the port of Salalah where the 25,400-dwt Fairchem Bogey (built 2010) was taken in August. Pirates also launched an unsuccessful attack on a Saudi tanker hours later.
Omani authorities have been on a heightened state of alert since the audacious attack, and were quick to dispatch a coast guard vessel and a surveillance aircraft to the scene causing the pirates to flee, the Royal Omani Police told local media in a statement.
In a separate incident over the weekend, a Royal Navy of Oman warship captured a hijacked dhow in international waters south of Salalah. Ten Somali nationals were arrested and taken to Oman for prosecution while 11 seafarers were freed.
