The five Greek crew members of the tanker Hellas Aphrodite, seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia, have been freed along with the rest of the crew.

The EU naval warship Victoria – operating under the European Union’s anti-piracy mission, Operation Atalanta – successfully secured the release of all 24 crew members aboard the Hellas Aphrodite, a Malta-flagged products tanker.

The Victoria is currently remaining close to the vessel as efforts continue to restart its engines.

The hijacking occurred early Thursday, about 500 nautical miles off Mogadishu, when pirates approached in speedboats and opened fire with automatic weapons and an RPG rocket launcher before boarding the ship, according to maritime security company Ambrey and maritime services firm Diaplous

There were no armed guards on board at the time.

The 24-member crew managed to take refuge in a fortified safe room.

Earlier on Friday, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker reportedly evaded a pirate attack in the same region, further heightening security concerns among international shipping operators.

Source: Ekathimerini.com