# MT Honour 25: FO confirms 3 Pakistani sailors killed in Somali pirate ship recovery Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/pakistan/somali-pirates-mt-honour-25-recovered-crew-report-3-of-10-pakistani-sailors) Type: News article Author: Searchable Editorial Published: 29 Sept 2026 Updated: 30 Sept 2026 Retrieved: 30 Sept 2026 > Rafiullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari died in the Puntland operation. Seven Pakistanis survived; the Foreign Office is arranging to bring the bodies home. **Updated Wednesday 30 September 2026, 7pm PKT.** **Pakistan's Foreign Office has confirmed that three Pakistani sailors were among the five crew members killed during the operation to recover MT Honour 25** from Somali pirates. It named them as **Rafiullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari**, Dawn and APP reported on Wednesday. ## What the Foreign Office confirmed - **5 crew killed:** 3 Pakistani, 1 from Myanmar and 1 from India. - **4 crew injured,** 3 of them Pakistani. - **14 crew** were brought safely to Bandar Beyla on the Puntland coast. - **21 suspected pirates** were arrested by the Puntland Maritime Police Force, and the vessel is now under the control of the Puntland government. - Pakistan's embassy in **Djibouti** is coordinating help for the survivors, and the Foreign Office says it is working to bring home the **mortal remains** of the three men. Dawn gives the crew as 19, of whom 10 were Pakistani. The seven other Pakistanis on board survived. The tanker's ownership is still unclear: the company first named as owner is now described as a likely middleman, which is one reason families struggled for months to get news. ## What families should do now Families of the survivors and of the deceased should stay in touch with the manning agent that placed the sailor and with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is handling repatriation through the Djibouti mission. Anyone offered a job at sea should check the agent with the Bureau of Emigration first; our guide to [spotting a fake overseas job](/news/pakistan/trade-test-centre-offering-a-visa-beoe-says-it-is-fraud-how-to-check-a-real) shows how. *Earlier, Tuesday 29 September:* **Somali pirates held the oil tanker MT Honour 25 for more than five months. On Tuesday 29 September 2026, forces from Somalia's Puntland region took the ship back, and the 10 Pakistani sailors on board are no longer in pirate hands.** Reports from the crew say several sailors were killed or injured during the operation. As of Tuesday night, Pakistan's Foreign Office had not confirmed the casualty figures. ## What happened on Tuesday The Puntland Maritime Police Force said its "naval and ground units" carried out a planned operation in the Dharin-Bar area of Bandar Beyla district, on Puntland's coast, Dawn reported. Puntland state television said the pirates involved in the hijacking had been arrested and would be taken to court, according to Geo News. The Palau-flagged tanker was hijacked on **21 April 2026**, about 30 nautical miles off Puntland. Reports disagree on the crew size: Geo News gives **17**, and an earlier Dawn version gave **19** (10 Pakistanis, 7 Indonesians, 1 Indian and 1 Sri Lankan). Every report agrees that **10 Pakistanis** were on board. ## Reports of deaths and injuries ARY News reported that **five crew members were killed** when Puntland forces attacked the ship, **three of them Pakistani**: Second Officer Kashif Umar, Third Engineer Mahmood Ansari and oiler Rafiullah Khan. It said the deaths were confirmed by the ship's Indonesian captain to a representative of the Ansar Burney Trust, and that **four crew members were injured**. According to ARY, the steering was damaged and the ship is being towed on a journey of about three days. Second Engineer Hussain Yousuf told the channel the crew needed "an immediate helicopter to transfer the injured and the bodies". Dawn quoted Ayesha Ameen, the wife of crew member Ameen Bin Shams, who said the bodies and the injured were still on the ship and "we don't know how bad the injuries are". The Foreign Office confirmed the three Pakistani deaths on 30 September (see the update at the top). ## What Pakistan has done so far Last month Pakistan asked the **International Maritime Organisation (IMO)** to help secure the release and safe return of the 10 Pakistani seafarers, Geo News reported. Families had spent months without regular contact with the crew. Tuesday's operation came a week after Puntland forces freed another hijacked tanker, the Sibu 1, which was seized in August. ## If a family member works at sea - **Keep the manning agent's details.** The company that hired the sailor is responsible for crew welfare and should be your first contact for news. - **Contact the Foreign Office.** The Ministry of Foreign Affairs runs a Crisis Management Unit for Pakistanis in difficulty abroad and works through Pakistan's missions overseas. - **Check a job before a relative accepts it.** Our report on [trade test centre visa fraud](/news/pakistan/trade-test-centre-offering-a-visa-beoe-says-it-is-fraud-how-to-check-a-real) explains how to check an overseas job and agent with the Bureau of Emigration. ## Frequently asked questions **How many Pakistanis were killed on MT Honour 25?** Three. The Foreign Office confirmed on 30 September 2026 that Rafiullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umer and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari were among five crew killed during the Puntland operation to recover the tanker. **How many Pakistanis were on MT Honour 25?** Ten Pakistani sailors were on the Palau-flagged tanker, hijacked off Puntland on 21 April 2026. Seven survived; three of the four injured crew are Pakistani. **When will the bodies be brought back to Pakistan?** No date has been given. The Foreign Office says it is working through the embassy in Djibouti to transport the mortal remains. ## Sources - Somali police recover MT Honour 25 from pirates (29 Sep 2026) (Dawn): https://www.dawn.com/news/2033553/somali-police-recover-mt-honour-25-from-pirates - Somali forces rescue tanker with Pakistanis among crew from pirates (29 Sep 2026) (Geo News): https://www.geo.tv/latest/684290-somali-forces-rescue-tanker-with-pakistanis-among-crew-from-pirates - Hijacked Honour 25 vessel attacked in Somalia, Pakistani crew members killed (29 Sep 2026) (ARY News): https://arynews.tv/hijacked-honour-25-vessel-attacked-in-somalia-pakistani-crew-members-killed - 3 Pakistanis among 5 crew lost during operation to recover ship hijacked by Somali pirates, FO confirms (30 Sep 2026) (Dawn): https://www.dawn.com/news/2033759/3-pakistanis-among-5-crew-lost-during-operation-to-recover-ship-hijacked-by-somali-pirates-fo-confirms - Pakistan expresses grief over deaths of citizens in MT Honour 25 recovery operation (APP): https://www.app.com.pk/national/pakistan-expresses-grief-over-deaths-of-citizens-in-mt-honour-25-recovery-operation/ How to cite: "MT Honour 25: FO confirms 3 Pakistani sailors killed in Somali pirate ship recovery", Searchable, 30 Sept 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/pakistan/somali-pirates-mt-honour-25-recovered-crew-report-3-of-10-pakistani-sailors