Kuwaiti owned crude oil tanker MV ZIRKU was pirated approximately 250 nautical miles South East of Salalah in the eastern part of the Gulf of Aden at approximately 9 a.m. on Monday, confirmed the European Union's piracy-combating operation EUNAVFOR Somalia.

The UAE flagged and Kuwaiti owned vessel was on its way to Singapore from Bashayer (Sudan) when it was attacked, said the EUNAVFOR Somalia. The vessel was attacked by two pirate skiffs firing RPGs and small arms.

The MV ZIRKU has a crew of 29 (1 Croatian, 1 Iraqi, 1 Filipino, 1 Indian, 3 Jordanians, 3 Eqyptians, 2 Ukrainians and 17 Pakistanis), confirmed the EUNAVFOR Somalia. But there is no further information about the crew at present. The EUNAVFOR Somalia was monitoring the situation.

EUNAVFOR Somalia's main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program (WFP) and vessels of African Union Mission in Somalia. EUNAVFOR also protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, deters and disrupts piracy. It also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.