Fears of Somali piracy resurgence after three ships hijacked in a week
Three ships have been hijacked off Somalia in a week, raising fears of a piracy resurgence as pirates exploit diverted international naval forces. The incidents, including a cement carrier and an oil tanker, highlight growing risks for global shipping already strained by Red Sea disruptions.
Pirates appear to be taking advantage of international naval forces being diverted to the Middle East.
Three ships have been hijacked off the coast of Somalia in the past week, raising concerns about the resurgence of piracy around the Horn of Africa and adding to difficulties for the global shipping industry.
The cargo ship Sward was seized on April 26, one day after a dhow was captured. Earlier, on April 21, the oil tanker Honor 25 carrying 18,000 barrels of oil was hijacked, according to the Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO), the tracking service of the EU naval force.
“All incidents are ongoing…,” MSCIO said in a statement on Monday. “Vessels operating in the region are strongly advised to maintain a heightened state of vigilance… especially within 150 nautical miles from the Somali coast between Mogadishu and Hafun, if feasible.”
Piracy around Somalia escalated sharply in the late 2000s, peaking in 2011 with 212 attacks, according to data from the EU naval force. Pirates became bolder, attacking ships as far as 2,270 miles off the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean.
An international naval coalition subsequently stemmed the wave of attacks, reducing them to just a few per year from 2014. However, incidents began to rise again in 2023.
The global shipping industry has been severely affected by the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels around the narrow Bab el Mandeb strait. Ships must pass through these straits to exit the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, with many then navigating around the Horn of Africa.
The Sward is a cement carrier that left the port of Suez in Egypt on April 13. It was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, when pirates seized it about 6 nautical miles (11 km) from the Somali port town of Garacad. The vessel had 17 crew members, 15 from Syria and two from India, according to three security officials from Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region.
After the hijacking, shortly after 8 p.m. on Sunday, the pirates sailed the ship ashore and anchored in a remote area near Garacad. Six armed men and an unarmed interpreter fluent in English and Arabic then boarded.
“He not only spoke with the crew but also negotiated with the shipowner,” one of the security officials said. A second official said: “The interpreter is the leader.”
By Tuesday morning, an additional four armed men had boarded the Sward, bringing the total number of pirates on the ship to 20, according to the officials.
Jethro Norman, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said pirates have taken advantage of international naval forces diverting resources to the Red Sea to counter Houthi attacks, and the UAE-backed Puntland security forces being stretched.
Norman said: “Pirate networks are testing the waters again and they are better equipped than the previous generation. GPS, satellite communications and hijacked mother dhows allow them to operate hundreds of miles offshore.”
A third Puntland security official said a shipment of khat, a narcotic stimulant widely used in the Horn of Africa, was brought by small boat to the pirates on the cement carrier on Tuesday morning. The shipment had been transported about 150 miles from the inland city of Galkayo on Monday, indicating the pirates have an onshore network and are likely preparing for a long siege at sea.
