Ansar Burney Trust says three Pakistani crew members of the recovered MT Honour 25 have safely reached Bosaso Port in Somalia, as efforts continue for their return to Pakistan.
Three Pakistani crew members from the rescued oil tanker MT Honour 25 have reportedly reached Bosaso Port safely, marking another major development following the vessel’s recovery from Somali pirates.
According to Ansar Burney Trust International, Pakistani sailors Hussain Yousuf, Imran Ali and Muhammad Yasin reached Bosaso along with Indonesian and Sri Lankan crew members at around midnight on October 2 and are currently at a safe location.
The trust said it had remained in contact with the vessel’s crew and also shared a screenshot of a conversation with the ship’s captain on social media. It added that contacts with relevant authorities were continuing to facilitate the Pakistani sailors’ earliest possible repatriation.
The latest claim follows an update issued on October 2 by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who said that Imran Ali, Yasin Muhammad and Syed Yousuf Hussain were still aboard the vessel with its captain at that stage. He said Pakistan was coordinating with friendly countries to arrange their safe extraction and return.
Four other Pakistani crew members — Yasir Khan, Aqeel Khan, Amin bin Shams and Usman Ghani — had already been safely retrieved following efforts by Pakistan’s Foreign Office and its embassy in Djibouti.
MT Honour 25 was hijacked off Somalia in April with 10 Pakistani nationals among its crew. Puntland forces regained control of the vessel in late September after more than five months in pirate captivity. Three Pakistani sailors — Rafi Ullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari — were confirmed killed during the ordeal.
Pakistan has said it is working to repatriate the surviving crew members as well as the remains of those who died.