By Bonface Mulyungi

Pirates have hijacked an oil tanker carrying 17 crew members off the Somali coast, security officials told the BBC, in the latest incident to raise concerns over a resurgence of piracy in the region.

The vessel, Honour 25, was overrun late Wednesday by six gunmen when it was about 30 nautical miles offshore, the officials said.

The hijacking comes as piracy — which had almost disappeared in the Indian Ocean corridor for years — has made a comeback, with fishing trawlers and container ships among vessels targeted in recent months.

Officials from Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region told the BBC the tanker was carrying about 18,500 barrels of oil and was headed for Mogadishu, a development likely to deepen anxiety in the Somali capital where fuel prices have reportedly tripled since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.

According to the report, the ship left Berbera in Somaliland on February 20 and later sailed near the coast of the United Arab Emirates shortly after the conflict began, with shipping data indicating it circled waters close to the Strait of Hormuz before turning back on April 2 and heading towards Mogadishu.

The tanker is said to be anchored close to the Somali shore between the fishing towns of Xaafun and Bander Beyla.

The publisher quoted sources saying five more armed men later boarded the tanker, and that officials believe the hijackers set out from a remote area near Bander Beyla.

It remained unclear how the attackers intercepted and took control of the vessel.

The crew comprises 10 Pakistanis, four Indonesians, one Indian, one Sri Lankan and one Myanmar national, the BBC reported.Neither Somali authorities nor the European Naval Force overseeing anti-piracy operations in Somali waters had issued a statement by the time of publication.