(MENAFN) Maritime security forces confirmed Thursday that armed assailants wielding rocket-propelled grenades stormed a commercial tanker en route from India to South Africa, marking the latest escalation in resurgent piracy plaguing East African waters.

The Malta-registered Hellas Aphrodite came under fire approximately 550 nautical miles off Somalia's coastline while transporting gasoline cargo, according to Latsco Marine Management Inc., the vessel's Greek operator.

The assault unfolded at 11:48 a.m. local time on November 6, 2025, as the ship navigated from Sikka, India, toward Durban, South Africa, the company disclosed in an official statement Thursday.
UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) reported that attackers in a small watercraft "fired small arms and RPG's towards the vessel."

All 24 crew members secured themselves in the ship's fortified safe room and remain unharmed, Latsco Marine Management Inc. confirmed. The company maintains ongoing communication with personnel aboard and has mobilized its emergency response unit while collaborating with law enforcement agencies "to ensure the continued safety and welfare of the crew."

UKMTO documented that "the Master reports that 4 unauthorized persons attempted to board his vessel."

The brazen attack surfaces merely days after pirates targeted the Cayman Islands-registered Stolt Sagaland roughly 330 nautical miles southeast of Mogadishu. That vessel successfully evaded capture after sustaining gunfire from a pursuing speedboat, according to Somali Guardian, which cited intelligence from Operation Atalanta, the European Union's naval security mission.

Between 2008 and 2018, Somali-based pirates paralyzed vital international shipping lanes, generating economic devastation before a multinational crackdown suppressed operations. Recent months have witnessed a disturbing resurgence of maritime criminal activity.

Pirate assaults peaked in 2011 with 237 documented incidents, a local news agency reported. The Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring organization calculated that year's worldwide financial toll at approximately $7 billion, including roughly $160 million extracted through ransom demands.

UKMTO issued an urgent advisory: "Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO."

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