Piracy concerns are growing fast off the Horn of Africa after two ships were hijacked last week and several new suspicious approaches were reported in the western Indian Ocean. Security officials have raised the regiona...
Piracy concerns are growing fast off the Horn of Africa after two ships were hijacked last week and several new suspicious approaches were reported in the western Indian Ocean. Security officials have raised the regional threat level.
The Joint Maritime Information Center has released its latest report, stating that the Somali Coast and the Somali Basin now face a credible threat of piracy, highlighting confirmed boardings and a series of suspicious encounters recently.
“There are many signs of a real piracy threat in the region,” the advisory noted, urging sailors to stay alert and report any suspicious activity to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations and MSCIO.
This warning comes after a significant increase in piracy incidents last week, when pirates took control of two commercial ships within hours of each other off the central coast of Somalia, steering both vessels into territorial waters—echoing previous high points of piracy in the area.
Additional incidents indicate that the threat is widespread. On May 1, a bulk carrier traveling through the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) reported an approach by a small boat with seven armed individuals around 92 nautical miles southwest of Al Mukalla, Yemen.
A few days earlier, a tanker about 500 nautical miles east of Somalia was approached by several small boats, including what seemed to be a mothership, before the boats departed upon seeing armed security.
The distances involved are a major concern for security analysts, hinting at a return to mothership-style operations that allow pirates to operate far beyond coastal waters.
This recent escalation follows a pattern that has been slowly resurfacing over the last two years.
Incidents of piracy began to rise in late 2023 and into 2024, coinciding with Houthi attacks in the Red Sea that shifted naval focus and altered regional shipping routes. During this period, there were several hijackings of dhows and attempted boardings, suggesting that pirate networks had not vanished but were exploring new opportunities.
Instances of hijacked fishing vessels being used as motherships—along with longer-range approaches in the Somali Basin—indicated a gradual rebuilding of piracy capabilities.
While international naval operations, including EU-led patrols, have managed to disrupt some attacks, the trend shows increasing coordination and ambition among pirate groups.
Now, this trend seems to be accelerating amid a second major maritime crisis.
The ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran has pushed threat levels in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters to “critical,” concentrating naval resources in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. This shift might be creating exploitable gaps in the western Indian Ocean just as pirate activity is on the rise.
Additionally, shipping routes disrupted by the ongoing crisis in the Red Sea are funneling traffic through alternative paths near the Horn of Africa—heightening exposure in the very areas where pirate operations are increasing.
For shipowners, the combination of confirmed hijackings, vessels still being held, and repeated offshore approaches signifies a clear escalation of the piracy threat.
The JMIC warning emphasizes that piracy is once again a real operational threat, rather than just a residual risk.
With global shipping already facing war-risk premiums, rerouted trade flows, and increased geopolitical tension, the resurgence of Somali piracy adds another layer of uncertainty—one that could quickly change risk assessments across the Indian Ocean if attacks continue to rise.