HARARE, May 23. /TASS/. Russian research vessel Atlantida was attacked by unidentified gunmen in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mozambique on May 10, Polina Zhukova, a spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Mozambique, told TASS.
"Unidentified persons opened fire at the Russian research vessel Atlantida off the coast of Mozambique in the Indian Ocean," she said. "No one onboard was hurt. The ship itself sustained minor damage. Following the incident, the vessel called at the port of Maputo and then proceeded to South Africa’s Durban."
Mozambique’s government spokesman Inocencio Impissa said on Friday that the government was investigating the attack on the Russian ship Atlantida off the Cabo Delgado province in the northeast of the country. "We are conducting a probe," the Lusa agency quoted him as saying. "As soon as we receive concrete results, we will inform you what happened. The government will give transparent explanations to the public and international community."
The ship’s research team of Russian and Mozambique specialists conducted joint marine biomass research in Mozambique’s waters as part of large-scale research in economic zones of Northwest African countries and the western part of the Indian Ocean in 2024-2026.