Somali piracy spikes in Red Sea

Ships are getting squeezed from every direction in the waters around the Horn of Africa. First came Houthi attacks in and around the Red Sea. Then more traffic started detouring around southern Africa. Now Somali piracy is back in a way that looks much more serious than a few isolated boardings. In late April, the EU naval mission Operation Atalanta confirmed two piracy incidents off northern Somalia involving the tanker HONOUR 25 and the merchant vessel SWARD. ### What actually happened? Operation Atalanta says the chain started on April 20, when Puntland maritime forces reported the fishing vessel ALKHARY 2 had been hijacked by a pirate action group. A day later, Atalanta reported a piracy incident involving HONOUR 25, with the tanker later located inside Somalia’s territorial waters. On April 26, the merchant vessel SWARD was also pirated near Dhinowda on Somalia’s northern coast. (eunavfor.eu) ### Why is this a bigger deal than one hijacking? Because this is not landing on a calm baseline. On April 8, the ICC’s piracy bureau said the whole world had recorded just 16 piracy and armed robbery incidents in the first quarter of 2026 — the lowest first-quarter figure since 1991. Then, within weeks, the Somalia area produced a burst of hijackings serious enough to reset the conversation. That contrast is what makes this feel like a real resurgence, not background noise. (eunavfor.eu) ### Why are ships suddenly exposed here again? The simple answer is route geometry. A lot of vessels that would normally use the Red Sea and Suez have been avoiding those waters because of insecurity tied to the Yemen conflict. That longer detour sends ships down the East African coast and past Somalia — basically back through waters that were once the center of the global piracy map. More ships in the lane means more targets. (icc-ccs.org) ### Why can pirates do this now? Piracy off Somalia never vanished completely, but it became much harder when naval patrols, onboard security teams, and shipping best practices all lined up. The catch is that naval attention is finite. Atalanta is still operating, but it patrols a huge area and is not an escort service for every merchant ship. If regional forces are busy with Red Sea and Gulf tensions, pirates need only a few gaps — not total naval absence. (dw.com) ### What’s the deal with the dhows? Dhows matter because they can work like mobile pirate bases. The March hijacking of the Iranian dhow Al Waseemi showed that pattern clearly — the vessel was taken about 400 nautical miles east of Mogadishu and was potentially used as a mothership before Atalanta and Somali authorities freed it on April 6. Small support vessels let pirate groups range farther and stay at sea longer. (dw.com) ### Does this mean a return to 2011? Not yet. The current spike is nowhere near the old peak, when Somali piracy became a global shipping emergency. But the ingredients are familiar — vulnerable traffic, stretched patrol coverage, and pirate groups willing to hold ships for ransom. That is enough to raise insurance costs, push ships toward extra security measures, and keep crews on edge. (wwwcdn.imo.org) ### Why should anyone outside shipping care? Because these are not remote, self-contained incidents. The Bab el-Mandeb, Gulf of Aden, and Somali Basin sit on trade routes that move fuel, manufactured goods, and food. When ships reroute, slow down, or pay more for risk cover and security, those costs spread outward. It is the maritime version of a traffic jam at a global choke point. (dw.com) ### Bottom line The news here is not just that pirates grabbed a few ships. It is that Somali piracy is reappearing exactly when commercial shipping has fewer easy alternatives. That combination is what turns a regional security problem into a supply-chain problem fast. (dw.com)