The Indian Navy reported on Saturday, December 16, that it has located the vessel. They diverted its Naval Maritime Patrol aircraft undertaking surveillance in the region and the plan has overflown the vessel and supplied pictures. In addition, an Indian Navy’s warship on anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden has now intercepted the Ruen. The Indian Navy reports they are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with other agencies.
Contact with the vessel, which was built in 2016 and is registered in Malta, was lost while it was approximately 380 nautical miles east of the island of Socotra, Yemen in the Arabian Sea. The vessel, which is 41,600 dwt, was traveling from Korea bound for Turkey. There are 18 crewmembers aboard including eight from Bulgaria.
Alexander Kalchev, director of the company, confirmed that there is a “security incident,” underway on the vessel. Speaking on Bulgarian TV, he said “We expect the kidnappers to contact us. The area where the ship was last detected is not a pirate area.” The reports are saying it is unclear since there has been no contact if the incident is related to current problems in Yemen or piracy
