Somali pirates hijacked an oil products tanker off the coast of Yemen, a Somali maritime security official said, marking the sixth commercial vessel seized since April as piracy resurges across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean.
Six armed pirates hijacked the Eritrean flagged M.T. Sibu 1 on Thursday about 136 nautical miles east of al-Mukalla, Yemen, and steered it toward Somalia’s Puntland coast, according to a Somali official with knowledge of the incident who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, saying he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The Sibu 1, managed by UAE based Qatrat Alnada Almasi Ship Management, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department last year for allegedly belonging to an Iranian shadow fleet used to transport petroleum products while evading U.S. sanctions.
What We Know So Far
The tanker had 20 crew members aboard, including 16 Indian nationals, one Syrian, one Sudanese and one Iraqi national. The nationality of one remaining crew member was not immediately known, and the vessel’s prior port of departure and intended destination remained unclear.
The hijacking came three days after pirates seized the Lutuf, a Cameroon flagged general cargo vessel, off Somalia’s coast. That ship had 10 crew members aboard, including six Indian nationals, a Turkish national, a Georgian national and two Serbian security guards, according to maritime tracking reports.
The Sibu 1 is the sixth vessel hijacked by Somali pirates since the Palau flagged tanker Honor 25 was seized off Somalia on April 21. Pirates subsequently seized the Sward on April 26, the Eureka on May 2, the Asana on July 17 and the Lutuf on August 17. Separate reporting from DW Africa described the pattern somewhat differently, characterizing three tankers carrying fertilizer and oil as seized in April and May, along with a chemical tanker commandeered off Yemen in July, with all four still held off the Somali coast. That account differs from the AP’s tally of six distinct vessels and does not fully align on cargo types or total count, a discrepancy that had not been resolved across the two reports.
The attacks have occurred increasingly far from Somalia’s coastline. The Eureka was hijacked while anchored off Yemen, and the Asana was seized roughly 65 nautical miles southwest of al-Mukalla. The International Maritime Bureau recorded 38 piracy and armed robbery incidents worldwide during the first half of 2026, including five hijackings, and said Somali pirates were responsible for 94 percent of crew members taken hostage during that period.
What Authorities Are Saying
Puntland’s Security Ministry said Friday that its investigations point to forces beyond Puntland’s control as being behind the renewed piracy, though it did not identify any specific group or country responsible. That claim could not be independently verified.
The ministry said it has deployed security forces along its coastline in response to the hijackings. It also condemned airstrikes it said struck fishing vessels and property near coastal communities where hijacked ships were being held, calling on the countries involved to explain strikes near Garacad on August 18 and August 20. The ministry did not identify who carried out those strikes, and the allegations could not be independently confirmed.
Why This Matters
Piracy off the Horn of Africa had declined significantly after peaking around 2011, following years of intense international naval patrols and onboard security measures during the 2000s. The renewed wave of hijackings in 2026 marks a notable reversal of that trend, raising fresh concerns among international shippers about the safety of a route that had become comparatively secure over the past decade.
The resurgence compounds existing pressure on global shipping companies navigating the broader Middle East, where vessels already face the risk of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and disruptions tied to the contested Strait of Hormuz. With Somali piracy now adding a third significant threat to commercial shipping routes through the region, companies may face increasingly difficult decisions about rerouting vessels or accepting higher insurance costs to continue operating in these waters.
Puntland’s unverified claim that outside forces are driving the renewed piracy, combined with unconfirmed reports of airstrikes near coastal communities holding hijacked vessels, suggests the situation may involve dynamics beyond opportunistic local piracy, though the lack of independent confirmation makes it difficult to assess the full scope of what is driving the resurgence.
What Happens Next
The fate of the Sibu 1’s 20 crew members remains uncertain as the vessel is held off Puntland’s coast, a pattern consistent with previous hijackings this year in which ships and crews have been held for extended periods. Authorities have not indicated whether negotiations for the vessel’s release are underway.
Puntland’s security forces are expected to continue operations along the coastline in response to the ongoing hijackings, though the unverified nature of the ministry’s claims about outside involvement and the disputed airstrikes leaves significant uncertainty about how the broader security response will unfold. International shipping companies are likely to continue monitoring the situation closely given the expanding geographic range of recent attacks.
Reporting drawn from the Associated Press and DW Africa
