MV Horizon-1 was a dry bulk cargo ship owned and operated by the Istanbul based Turkish company Horizon Denizcilik İç ve Dış Ticaret A.Ş.

On March 19, 2009, the Horizon-1 was harassed on its way from Ukraine to China in the Gulf of Aden by Somali pirates as she witnessed the hijacking of the Greek-owned vessel MV Titan.

[5] On July 10, the Horizon-1 left Hordio and sailed to the so-called pirate haven of Eyl in 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) distance southwards, cruising at low speed for unknown reason.

[6] At the time of the incident, the vessel's crew consisted of 23 Turks including the 24-year-old, female third officer Aysun Akbay, a graduate of Black Sea Technical University's Department of Deck at Sürmene Faculty of Marine Sciences.

The Turkish officials rather preferred to contact Kenyan authorities for legal assistance, who have more experience in handling pirates from Somalia.