Three remaining Pakistani crew members of MT Honour 25 rescued, flown to Addis Ababa: FO

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Monday that the three remaining Pakistani crew members of MT Honour 25 had been rescued and flown to Addis Ababa, where they were expected to begin their journey back to Pakistan on October 7.

The development meant that all seven surviving Pakistani crew members rescued from the vessel had now been brought closer to returning home. Four injured crew members — Usman Ghani, Aqeel Khan, Ameen bin Shams and Yasir Khan — had arrived in Karachi on Sunday aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 694 from Addis Ababa.

The same flight also carried the remains of three Pakistani sailors who died in the incident — Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmad Ansari. Their remains were handed over to their families after arriving in Karachi.

The three rescued crew members — Imran Ali, Muhammad Yasin and Syed Husain Yousuf — were accompanied by a team from the Embassy of Pakistan in Djibouti, Dar said in a post on X. “The three crew members will be received in Addis Ababa and, InshaAllah, depart for Pakistan on the first available Ethiopian Airlines flight to Karachi, expected on October 7,” he said.

The foreign minister expressed his “deep gratitude” to the Government of Somalia and the European Union Naval Force Operation (EUNAVFOR) Atalanta for helping secure the crew’s release.

Dar said the naval force had been “present in the vicinity of MT Honour 25”, thanking it for its “assistance and cooperation” in securing the crew. “Pakistan remains firmly committed to strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation to combat maritime piracy and safeguard the security and freedom of international maritime routes,” he concluded.

Pakistanis held in captivity

The oil tanker Honour 25, sailing under the Somali flag from Oman to Somalia, was hijacked by pirates on April 21. There were 17 crew members aboard, 10 of them Pakistani nationals. The families of the Pakistani hostages spent months seeking the safe release of their loved ones, staging peaceful protests and repeatedly approaching government authorities.

During their captivity, the pirates initially demanded a ransom of $3 million, which was later reduced to $1.9 million and subsequently to $1 million. All the Pakistani crew members who were killed or injured were from different areas of Karachi.

The pirates came under pressure during a rescue operation and, while retreating from the vessel, opened indiscriminate fire on the abducted crew before fleeing the ship. Five sailors were killed, including three Pakistanis — Second Officer Kashif Umar, Third Engineer Mahmood Ansari and Boiler Rafiullah. The other two deceased crew members were an Indian sailor, Tanveer, and the chief engineer from Myanmar.

Also Read: FO expresses condolences over deaths of five crew members in Somalia rescue operation

Four sailors were injured — Usman, Yasir, Ameen and Vicky from Indonesia — while Hussain Yousuf, Imran Ali and Yaseen remained safe. The two surviving Pakistani crew members later contacted the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust in Karachi using the ship captain’s mobile phone and provided details of the incident.

Puntland police said the Honour 25 had 18,500 barrels of oil on board when it was hijacked. The police had been pursuing three hijacked vessels off the Somali coast and had also rescued another oil tanker, Sibu 1, on Friday. However, 28 of the 41 pirates arrested during that operation later escaped while being transferred to jail, with several Puntland security officials accusing local police of complicity.

The Gulf of Aden and Somalia coasts have seen a resurgence in piracy since April, with at least 15 attacks recorded this year, the highest number since 2013, according to figures from the International Maritime Organisation.