Rare Hijacking in the Gulf of Aden

This is a noteworthy development.

Somali pirates have seized a Yemeni cargo vessel with a crew of 16 and are taking it out toward the Indian Ocean, a Yemeni Defense Ministry website said on Monday.

The vessel, called Al Mahmoud 2, had left Yemen's southern port of Aden on December 18, with 15 sailors and a captain on board -- all Yemenis, the impoverished Arab country's coastguard told the website.

Not sure the ship name is accurate in that report, because according to this information the ship Al Mahmoud 2 is actually in Beirut. Perhaps a different ship of the same name?

Based on reports from other sources (more credible than Reuters), an unnamed ship was hijacked approximately 97 NM southwest of Al Mukalla, Yemen (12 58N 048 33E) at 14:49 Zulu (GMT). Unless my calculations are wrong, that would be 5:49 in the afternoon, just minutes after sunset.

This hijacking would represent the first successful hijacking in the Gulf of Aden since early July, and is the first example where a ship that followed the guidelines set forth by the international community was hijacked in the shipping lane patrolled by multinational naval forces.