21 Syrian sailors survive armed piracy in northeastern Djibouti after 6-hour siege

The captain of the commercial cargo ship "Bordeaux" revealed that the ship's 21 sailors, all of whom are Syrians, were subjected to an armed kidnapping attempt and a serious piracy operation 300 nautical miles northeast of Djibouti.

The captain, according to the Syrian Seafarers website,  confirmed the safety of all crew members and that no injuries were recorded among them. This field announcement came to highlight the resurgence of piracy gang activity in vital waterways near the Horn of Africa.

Behind the scenes of the confrontation

One of the surviving sailors recounted the details of the incident on the ground, indicating that four armed pirates suddenly sneaked onto the deck of the ship at 9:40 a.m. last Wednesday.

Al-Bahar explained that advance preparation and preparation of defensive measures one day before the attack was the decisive factor in protecting lives, as the crew implemented an immediate and typical evacuation plan by fully withdrawing to the rudder room, which had been prepared in advance as a fortified emergency shelter, and closing all its outlets with iron regulations and thick latches to repel the incursion.

The surviving sailor pointed out that the crew members stayed inside the fortified room for 6 continuous hours under the weight of a violent attack in which the pirates used machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades that blew up the ship's turret and caused material damage to its structure.

He said that the attackers failed to penetrate the closed doors despite being whipped to cut them thermally by cutting equipment (Shalmon) and gas cylinders that they left behind, pointing out that the violent recoiling of bullets and projectile fragments resulted in the serious injury of one of the pirate escorts, which prompted the armed formation to abandon the operation and flee the site.

Vigilance and Indian Navy Intervention

The Syrian crew explained that they adhered to the highest levels of vigilance and caution after the escape of the attackers and the arrival of a battleship belonging to the Indian Navy, as the sailors observed the continued drooping of the ship's ladder on the side, so they decided to avoid the deceptive trap and not to go out for fear of ambushes or pockets left for the pirates, preferring to stay inside the fort until Thursday morning, when the Indian Army members were alerted and secured the ship completely.

In turn, the Syrian Seafarers' Syndicate thanked the owner company for its speed in communicating with international rescue agencies to check on the crew.

The Syrian Seafarers' Syndicate on the High Seas confirmed that this incident provides a practical and mandatory guide for all marine crews working in areas classified as dangerous, which requires the application of a strict safety protocol.

According to the Syndicate, the protocol is summarized in four axes: pre-engineering fortification of the rudder room, periodic intensification of raid simulation exercises, strict security discipline by prohibiting the departure of shelters until the ship is militarily cleared, and maintaining immediate and permanent contact with international operations rooms and ownership companies to ensure a quick response to distress calls.

Simultaneous navigational data showed that several other commercial vessels were subjected to similar piracy attempts in the same region and time, recalling the complex security background of piracy issues in the Horn of Africa.

These developments brought to the fore the tragedy of the abduction of the passengers of the "Swar" off the coast of Somalia more than two months ago with Syrian sailors on board, who recently issued urgent and critical distress appeals as a result of the sharp deterioration in their health and psychological conditions and the lack of basic medical care, putting maritime safety warnings on the highest level of international alert.