A merchant ship hijacked in Yemeni waters in the Gulf of Aden last week is now being held by Somali pirates, two residents of Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region told Reuters on Thursday.

• The ship, the MT Asana, is a Tanzanian-flagged fuel and chemical tanker.

• There were at least 19 crew members on board, including 11 Indians, five Syrians, two Yemenis and an Egyptian, according to a manifest seen by Reuters.

• A resident of Caluula in Puntland saw pirates transporting food to the hijacked ship.

• The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said last week that a vessel boarded by unauthorised personnel in the Gulf of Aden had been manoeuvred into Somali waters, classifying it as a hijack.

• Somali pirates caused havoc in the waters off the Horn of Africa nation's long coastline between 2008 and 2018. After a lull, pirate activity started to pick up again in late 2023.