A European Union naval task force was racing Friday to reach a Malta-flagged oil tanker hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, amid renewed concerns over piracy in the region.

The vessel, Hellas Aphrodite, carrying a gasoline cargo from India to South Africa, was attacked Thursday by armed pirates who fired machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades before boarding the ship. Its 24-member crew took shelter in a locked citadel on board, officials said.

According to tracking data analyzed by the Associated Press, the tanker was over 1,000 kilometers (about 620 miles) off Somalia’s coast when the assault occurred. The EU’s anti-piracy mission, Operation Atalanta, said its naval assets were “closing distance and ready to take appropriate action” to respond to the hijacking.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO) reported another attempted approach Friday in the same area. A small vessel with three suspected pirates tried to near another ship but failed after the target vessel increased speed and escaped.

The hijacking comes days after another tanker, the Cayman Islands-flagged Stolt Sagaland, was attacked in a separate incident that ended in a gunfight between the ship’s security guards and suspected pirates. Officials believe both attacks may have been carried out by the same group, operating from an Iranian fishing vessel seized earlier.

Piracy off Somalia once posed a major threat to global shipping, peaking in 2011 with 237 recorded attacks that cost the global economy an estimated $7 billion, including $160 million in ransom payments. International naval patrols and improved Somali governance later curbed the threat.

However, officials warn that pirate activity has resurged over the past year, partly fueled by regional instability and disruptions caused by Yemen’s Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. The Hellas Aphrodite is the first commercial vessel seized off Somalia since May 2024.

Local fisherman Osman Abdi in Mogadishu said the renewed attacks could harm the reputation of Somali fishers. “These hijackings create fear and suspicion toward us,” he said. “Many now see us as pirates, and that affects our livelihoods.”