Three vessels have been hijacked off the coast of Somalia in the past week, raising fears of a resurgence in piracy around the Horn of Africa. The incidents add further strain to the global shipping industry, already grappling with attacks in the Red Sea and the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The merchant vessel Sward was seized on 26 April, a day after a dhow was taken, and following the 21 April hijacking of the motor tanker Honour 25, which was carrying 18,000 barrels of oil. The Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO), the tracking service of the EU's naval force, confirmed the incidents and urged vessels to maintain heightened vigilance within 150 nautical miles of the Somali coast between Mogadishu and Hafun.
Piracy around Somalia peaked in 2011 with 212 attacks, but an international naval coalition reduced incidents to just a handful annually from 2014. However, attacks began to rise again in 2023. Experts say pirates are exploiting the diversion of naval resources to the Red Sea to counter Houthi attacks, and stretched security forces in the autonomous Somali region of Puntland.
The Sward, a cement carrier with 17 crew members—15 Syrians and two Indians—was captured about six nautical miles from the Somali port town of Garacad. Pirates steered the ship to a remote anchorage, with six armed men and an unarmed interpreter boarding initially. By Tuesday morning, the number of pirates on board had risen to 20, according to Puntland security officials.
Jethro Norman, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, noted that pirate networks are testing the waters again and are better equipped than before, using GPS, satellite communications, and hijacked dhow motherships to operate hundreds of miles offshore. A shipment of the narcotic khat was delivered to the pirates on the Sward, suggesting a land-based network and preparations for a prolonged siege.
