KARACHI: Ambreen Fatima protested in Karachi along with her youngsters on Wednesday for the discharge of her husband, certainly one of 10 Pakistani crew aboard an oil tanker seized by Somali pirates 23 days in the past, and who’s now ingesting unclean tank water to outlive, she mentioned.
The MT Honor 25, a Palau-flagged product tanker, was seized on April 21 roughly 30 nautical miles off Somalia’s Puntland area with 17 crew members aboard, 10 of them Pakistani.
Fatima mentioned her daughter had been hospitalized for 2 days as a result of stress and her 16-year-old son, sitting his annual exams, may barely focus.
“He says his mind is not functioning. He is fearful about his dad and that is all that is on his thoughts,” mentioned Fatima. Her husband, Syed Hussain Yousuf, serves as second engineer on the vessel. The final time their captors allowed a video name six days in the past, “he didn’t look effectively”, she mentioned.
Overseas ministry says pirates haven’t contacted nation
Below the recent solar, 5 households of the hostages gathered on the Native Jetty Bridge, close to Karachi important port, holding indicators demanding the federal government convey their family house, whereas youngsters, some barely capable of maintain their placards upright, stood beside them.
Hijackings of vessels by Somali pirate gangs had been as soon as widespread place across the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, a significant transport lane used to move important power and items to world markets. They eased by a lot of 2025 however incidents are rising once more.
The waterway is especially vital given the efficient closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a result of Iran battle.
Households mentioned their youngsters had suffered panic and anxiousness assaults since their fathers went lacking. Crew members, when briefly allowed by pirates to name house, reported that the ship had run out of fresh water, with sailors ingesting soiled tank water and surviving on boiled rice as soon as a day.
Pakistan’s international ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi mentioned the pirates had not contacted Islamabad and had proven no need to barter with the federal government. “The ship proprietor is negotiating with the pirates and is in contact with the Somali authorities, which is conserving Pakistan knowledgeable of updates,” he mentioned.
A workforce from Pakistan’s embassy in Djibouti visited Somalia from Might 7 to 10 and was informed the captives had been protected, however that Somali authorities couldn’t storm the vessel because it carried flammable cargo, he mentioned.
“We’re doing our greatest. We perceive that Pakistan’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs is coordinating with the households.” At the least three vessels had been hijacked off Puntland in April 2026, prompting a “substantial” threat-level warning from the UK Maritime Commerce Operations.
Printed in Daybreak, Might 14th, 2026
