Qatar condemned on Tuesday the hijacking of an oil tanker in Yemeni territorial waters, with several Egyptian sailors on board.
The Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the tanker was taken to Somali territorial waters near the Puntland region, calling the incident “a flagrant violation of international law” and a “serious threat” to maritime security and international trade.
Doha expressed full solidarity with Egypt and the sailors’ families, stressing the need to ensure the crew’s safety and speed up their release, the ministry said.
It called for coordinated international efforts to protect maritime navigation and freedom of passage through international waterways, describing them as essential to regional and global security and stability.
Egypt confirmed on Monday that an oil tanker carrying eight Egyptian sailors was hijacked off Yemen’s coast and taken to Somalia.
