On Apr 15, 2017, at 9.30 p.m. the 'Alheera' issued a distress signal, reporting being under pirates attack in the Gulf of Aden off the Yemen coast, 170 miles east of Aden. ´The Chinese Navy frigate 'Yulin' , known for taking part in freeing the cargo m/v 'OS 35' from hijackers some days earlier, happened to be nearest, and rushed to assist. The frigate’s helicopter was deployed to thwart the pirates in position 12 43 N 048 02 E. The vessel was under attack by a small boat with 5 POB, reportedly shots were fired towards the tanker. The pirates aboarted the attack.
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HONOUR 25
On Oct 5, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar announced that the three remaining Pakistani crew members of the 'Honour 25' have been flown to Addis Ababa, accompanied by a team from Pakistan's Embassy in Djibouti. The remaining crew members were identified as Imran Ali, Muhammad Yasin and Syed Husain Yousuf. The three crew members would be received in Addis Ababa and were expected to depart for Pakistan on the first available Ethiopian Airlines flight to Karachi, anticipated on Oct 7. He expressed deep gratitude to the Government of Somalia and the European Union Naval Force Operation Atalanta, which had been present in the vicinity of the 'Honour 25', for their assistance and cooperation in securing the release of the crew. The repatriation of the three crew members came a day after a special aircraft carried four injured Pakistani crew members and the mortal remains of three killed sailors to Karachi's Jinnah International Airport on Oct 4. Sindh Governor Nehal Hashmi and provincial ministers Saeed Ghani and Syed Nasir Hussain Shah were among senior officials present at the airport to receive the victims. The injured crew members — Usman Ghani, Aqeel Khan, Ameen bin Shams and Yasir Khan — along with the mortal remains of Rafiullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmad Ansari, arrived aboard the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 694. The injured Pakistanis later exited the airport where they were welcomed by officials. On Oct 2, DPM Dar had said that three Pakistani crew members, Imran Ali, Yasin Muhammad and Syed Yousuf Hussain , had remained aboard the 'Honour 25' along with the captain, with efforts underway to facilitate their safe return. Ahead of the rescue operation, five crew members were killed, among them three Pakistanis, one Indian and one Myanmar national, while four others were injured.
GRACE ROMAVICTOR
The 'STI Amber' was boarded by robbers in position 17 02 24.0 N, 82 26 06.0 E, at the Kakinada anchorage on Nov 17, 2018, at 10.15 p.m. The robbers stole vessel's stores and escaped. The theft was discovered during the next routine rounds. Kakinada port control, the Indian Coast Guard and the vessel's agents were informed about the incident.
STAR AQUA
One CAT 41 incident of armed robbery against ships in Asia was reported to the ReCAAP ISC. The incident occurred onboard the 'Star Aqua' while the bulk carrier was underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Singapore Strait (SS) on Oct 1, 2026, at 2 a.m. Four unarmed perpetrators boarded the vessel in pos. 1°9.76' N 103° 27.58' E, about 6.6 nautical miles off Pulau Kecil. The crew members were not injured, and nothing was stolen from the vessel.
CUL KLANG
Early on Oct 7, 2026, a small boat harassed the 'CUL Klang', enroute from Port Klang, and shots were fired, while the container ship was transiting the southern Red Sea in the area north of the Bab el-Mandeb. The small craft subsequently moved away from the area, and the vessel continued its northbound passage through the Red Sea. The crew was uninjured. The ship was displaying a message on its AIS that read “China owned&CHN crew.” The circumstances that caused the armed boat to withdraw remained unclear, and there were no immediate claims of responsibility. In the past, reports have indicated that some of the small boats might be fishing boats in the region and simply acting to protect their boats and fishing nets. The Houthis have said they would be only targeting ships linked to Saudi Arabia, further raising doubts that they would target a Chinese container vessel. Delivered in 2024, the 'CUL Klang' was operated by the Chinese CUL Lines, which maintained routes to the Mediterranean, Middle East, and intra-Asia.

