Yesterday in the Red Sea Eleven armed attackers boarded the 1978 built roll on roll of cargo vessel Marzooqah flying the flag of Togo. The Captain of a crew that include nationals from India Egypt and Syria reported that five of the invading force remained on board and that his vessel was bound for the Somali coast.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office in Dubai, part of the contribution by the Royal Navy set up to ensure that trade can safely transit in the area North of 10 degrees South and West of 78 degrees East, acts as the primary point of contact for merchant vessels and liaison with military forces in the region and was immediately alerted.
But today it seems someone has egg on their face with the ship now at anchor in Port of Massawa and the Ship’s Master confirming that his ship and crew are safe after being boarded not by Pirates as was at first reported but that the invaders were in fact Eritrean Border Guards.