Muscat: A bulk carrier was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden yesterday morning, according to a European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor) e-mail sent to Gulf News. No contact could be established with the ship since the attack, a EU Navfor spokesman later said.
"The bulk carrier MV Eagle was attacked in the early hours with pirates firing small arms and a rocket propelled grenade before boarding the vessel," the EU Navfor spokesperson said.
The attack occurred in the Gulf of Aden, 490 nautical miles South West of Salalah, southern coastal town of Oman.
The MV Eagle, which is a Cypriot flagged and Greek owned vessel, has a deadweight of 52,163 tonnes and a crew of 24 Filipinos and was on passage from Jordan to India when it was attacked.
There is no information concerning the condition of the crew.
EU Navfor is monitoring the situation.
Another attack
Meanwhile, the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, which was seized in the Southern Red Sea on July 4 with a crew of 18 Filipinos on board, was released approximately 160 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia.
An EU Navfor ship assisted the crew immediately after their release.
According to the ship's Greek owners, the crew are reported to be "as well as could be expected given the circumstances".
