Under the black flag. Maritime terrorism is getting stronger

Born in Montenegro, Montenegro, Bojan Radisić may have paid his life to face Somali pirates. On Thursday, November 6, 2025, he was captain of the "Hellas Aphrodite" tanker owned by the Greek shipowner and registered under the flag of Malta. The ship carried thousands of tons of liquefied gas from the Sikkah port of India to Durban, South Africa, and the way of its voyage led through the west coast of the Indian Ocean. erstwhile the tanker was about 550 miles east of the Somali coast, a work officer noted that a large motorboat was approaching after a flat water pane table. As she was closer, he spotted respective twelve men on board armed with light AK-47 device guns. The tanker tanks were full fueled, so ‘Hellas Aphrodite’ reached full immersion, thus its side was only 5 metres from the water. Armed men came up, set ladders, and boarded a Greek ship after them. Captain Radisić and 23 of his subordinates (5 Greeks and 18 Filipinos) took refuge in the alleged citadel, or special, closed condition of the tanker, prepared in case of an attack. But they lost control of the ship. Meanwhile, pirates began to search all the corners of "Hellas Aphrodite", taking from the compartment sailors, among others, money and valuables. From a safe room, the captain managed to establish a link with the coast defender and call for help. As a result, the following day, the “Victoria” vessel of the European Navy “Atalanta” arrived. Armed commandos sailed close “Hellas” and began preparing to recapture the ship. It didn't escape the attention of pirates. They immediately completed the action, boarded back into the motorboat and sailed towards the Somali coast before the choice unit completed preparations for the assault. The sailors lost money and valuables, but they escaped with their lives.