Somali pirates have carried out eight hijackings since late April, including two in August, marking a return to piracy levels not seen in a decade, according to officials and maritime-security analysts. The attacks have targeted cargo ships and smaller dhows off the Horn of Africa.
The resurgence is being linked to disruption caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran, attacks and naval activity around the Red Sea and Gulf of Hormuz, and renewed political instability inside Somalia. The recent incidents include an oil tanker with ties to Iran and the Cameroon-flagged Lutuf, which was carrying military equipment for Turkey.
How the Lutuf was seized and released
The Lutuf was approached near the fishing town of Maraya, about three nautical miles from Somalia’s shore, by the previously hijacked cement carrier MV Sward. Local officials said the Sward had been repurposed as a pirate mothership.
Eight gunmen from the Sward boarded the Lutuf and overpowered its armed guards. The vessel was released two weeks later after a joint Turkish-Somali operation, which included drone attacks at sea and on land and the destruction of four pirate vessels. Nine armed men were killed by a Turkish drone missile while preparing boats to join the attackers, according to officials.
Mohamed Mubarak, head of Puntland’s security coordination office, said a ransom was also paid. The reported payment has prompted warnings that quickly settling hijackings could encourage further attacks.
Why the waters have become more vulnerable
Matthew Reisener, national security adviser at the Center for Maritime Security, said naval resources that previously helped combat piracy off the Horn of Africa had been diverted to threats in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. He also said rerouted shipping had created new opportunities for pirates closer to Somalia’s coastline.
A May report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies said the opening was enabled by the redeployment of international anti-piracy fleets, relaxed commercial risk-management practices and the distraction caused by Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Analysts also say higher oil prices have increased the value of oil cargoes as targets.
Somalia has struggled to secure its coastline because of insufficient patrol vessels and irregular salary payments for coastal-patrol personnel. The country has faced conflict and clan competition since the fall of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, without a strong central government.
A more adaptive threat and uncertain response
Local officials said pirate groups have used seized vessels to capture additional ships. They also described the use of Starlink satellite internet to track potential targets and communicate at high speed, reflecting what Lloyd’s List has called a more capable and adaptive threat.
Residents of Galkayo in the Mudug region said money began circulating more widely after the Lutuf ransom was paid. They reported increased khat consumption and more expensive sport utility vehicles on local roads. During the previous piracy boom, ransom money was associated with wider increases in alcohol and drug use and prostitution in affected communities.
UK-based academics Anja Shortland and Federico Varese have questioned whether governments have the willingness or capacity to recreate the large international anti-piracy force deployed more than a decade ago. They said piracy may ultimately require action on land, even though the attacks occur at sea.
What happens next
The immediate question is whether further hijackings and ransom outcomes will determine the scale of any renewed international anti-piracy response; analysts cited in the material say no state or alliance currently appears ready to mount a mission comparable to the 2011–12 campaign.
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