Experts in maritime risk and global security, Dryad Global, have reported receiving information suggesting that Somali pirates have hijacked a Panama-flagged Chemical vessel AEGEAN II. If true, this would be the first successful hijack in Somali waters since 2017. The vessel is believed to have been attacked on the evening (local time) of the 16^th August 2020, by six pirates, after having developed mechanical issues.

Dryad Globals preliminary assessment suggests that the vessel in question is the Panama-flagged oil and chemical tanker AEGEAN II (IMO 9016911) which was in transit from the UAE to Mogadishu. It is believed to have been attacked during its transit off the coast of the Horn of Africa, approximately 180 nm SW of Socotra. 

So far, this incident appears to be an isolated and opportunistic piratical activity which seized on a vessel in a vulnerable situation, which had transited close to Somali TTWs.

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