Pirates have hijacked an oil tanker with 17 crew members off the coast of Somalia, according to multiple security officials. The vessel, named Honour 25, was boarded late Wednesday by six armed men while sailing approximately 30 nautical miles offshore.
The hijacking marks a resurgence of piracy in the Indian Ocean, which had nearly disappeared by 2021 after international naval interventions. However, attacks on fishing trawlers and container ships have increased in recent years, and this seizure of a tanker heading to Mogadishu is expected to heighten fears in the Somali capital, where petrol prices have already tripled since the start of the US-Israel conflict with Iran.
The ship was carrying 18,500 barrels of oil, officials from Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region told the BBC. According to the ShipAtlas website, the Honour 25 departed Berbera port in Somaliland on February 20 and arrived near the UAE coast shortly after the conflict began. It circled near the Strait of Hormuz before turning back on April 2 and heading toward Mogadishu.
The tanker is now anchored near the Somali shore between the fishing towns of Xaafun and Bander Beyla, under pirate control. The crew consists of 10 Pakistanis, four Indonesians, one Indian, one Sri Lankan, and one Myanmar national. Five additional armed men have since boarded the vessel, sources said.
Officials believe the hijackers launched from a remote area near Bander Beyla, but it remains unclear how they intercepted and took control of the tanker. Neither Somali authorities nor the European Naval Force, which oversees anti-piracy operations in the region, have released statements on the incident.