Somali piracy is back — and the Red Sea crisis helped bring it home
Hijackings have surged since April as navies focus on the Houthis. Three ships were freed this month, but five crew members died in one rescue.
At a glance
- Piracy off Somalia has surged since late April 2026, with seized vessels held near Bander Beyla in Puntland.
- On October 2 the IMO confirmed three hijacked vessels — Honour 25, Seamull and Eureka — were freed and 44 seafarers released.
- Five crew members died during the operation to free Honour 25.
- Analysts say naval attention shifted to the Houthis in the Red Sea, while depleted fish stocks pushed some fishermen into piracy.
A decade after it was largely stamped out, piracy off the coast of Somalia is back.
Hijackings have surged since late April 2026. Several seized vessels have been held near Bander Beyla, a fishing town on the coast of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in Somalia's north-east. Exact numbers vary depending on whether fishing boats and dhows are counted alongside commercial ships.
Ships freed, lives lost
On October 2, the International Maritime Organization confirmed that three hijacked vessels — Honour 25, Seamull (also known as Sibu 1) and Eureka — had been freed and 44 seafarers released. Five crew members died during the rescue of Honour 25. Residents say dozens of people in Bander Beyla were arrested, mostly for supplying food or khat to pirates.
Local authorities banned fishermen from going to sea for two months from late August, fearing pirates were disguising themselves as fishermen, and told businesses not to sell to them. The ban was lifted on October 1. European Union naval helicopters still patrol the coast.
Why now?
Analyst Abdinur Abdella says international naval forces shifted their attention to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from late 2023, leaving gaps that armed groups exploited. Jethro Norman of the Danish Institute for International Studies says piracy depends on land-based kinship networks that supply money, equipment and protection, and that Puntland's maritime police are stretched by fighting ISIS in the Al-Miskad mountains.
Fishermen also describe shrinking catches as foreign trawlers deplete fish stocks — a grievance that helped fuel the first piracy wave after Somalia's central government collapsed in 1991.
For global trade, it is another headache. With the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz already dangerous, renewed piracy in the Indian Ocean adds to insurance and shipping costs.
Questions people are asking
Why has Somali piracy returned?
Analysts point to international navies being focused on Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, stretched local maritime police, and fishermen angered by foreign trawlers depleting fish stocks.
Does piracy affect shipping costs?
Yes. Piracy raises insurance premiums and can force ships onto longer routes, adding to costs already inflated by the crises in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
How we verified this story
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