Beware! Somali Pirates Target Ships Avoiding the Middle East
A third crisis is now brewing: the resurgence of piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Before the latest escalation between the United States, Israel, and Iran erupted, around half of the ships heading to Europe from Asia and the Gulf had avoided the Red Sea and the Suez Canal due to previous attacks launched by Iran-backed Houthi groups.
Faced with the threat of attacks around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow chokepoint connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, major shipping companies opted for a long detour around southern Africa.
This route diversion adds two to three weeks and thousands of nautical miles to sea voyages, taking ships across the Somali coast — waters that once served as the stage for Somali pirate hijackings, which peaked in 2011. Sporadic incidents have been reported since then.
Piracy returns as a disturbing threat
Those seas are now witnessing a fierce resurgence of hijackings: Three ships have been pirated off Somalia and Yemen in just the last three weeks.
As of 8 May 2026, the oil tanker Honour 25 and Eureka, as well as the cargo ship Sward, remain under pirate control.
Experts believe that organised crime groups in central Somalia are exploiting the Iran war to launch hijackings, while international naval patrols first deployed in 2008 to combat the pirates are now stretched thin by events around the Hormuz Strait and the Red Sea.
Senior researcher on transnational threats and organised crime at the Institute for Security Studies, Tim Walker, said that the pirates now see far less deterrence along Somalia’s 3,300-kilometre coastline — the longest on the African continent.
“Some groups, organised by … piracy kingpins, are now attempting to seize ships and hold them ransom, along with their crews inside — sometimes demanding very high ransoms for their safe return,” Walker told Deutsche Welle.
The European Union’s Operation Atalanta, the naval mission tasked with protecting shipping off Somalia, maintains its permanent presence in the western Indian Ocean, operating alongside the Multinational Combined Task Force 151. However, the mission is not an escort force but is responsible for patrolling vast areas.
Well-funded pirates use dhows
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, there are at least two active pirate groups mainly based in Puntland, the semi-autonomous region in north-eastern Somalia. They appear to have abundant resources.
The pirates have seized large traditional vessels known as dhows — used for fishing and local trade — and repurposed them as motherships. These ships allow the pirates to extend their range and remain at sea for weeks before using them as launchpads to attack commercial vessels.
Troels Burchall Henningsen, assistant professor at the Institute for Strategy and War Studies, told Deutsche Welle: “Some of the latest hijackings involve large dhows, which require navigation equipment, weapons, and gear to board ships. This is a major operation that requires investment.”
“There are far more ships in the area now, and some do not implement the best security measures,” said Walker, describing how an oil tanker en route to Mogadishu was hijacked near the Somali coast, where the ship was most vulnerable.
Piracy could further increase shipping costs
As Middle East conflicts have already driven up shipping insurance premiums, added around one million dollars in fuel costs per voyage, and skyrocketed freight rates, industry leaders warn that a major piracy resurgence could push costs even higher and further disrupt global trade.
At the peak of the previous piracy crisis in 2011, the economic damage from piracy was estimated to reach around seven billion US dollars per year, according to the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, a Japanese think tank.
Those losses included military operation costs, route diversions, higher-speed sailing — which consumes more fuel — additional security equipment, and armed guards on board.
Only a very small portion of the total costs, nearly 160 million US dollars, was paid as ransoms, according to the think tank’s calculations.
Development funding for Somalia is cut
While the Iran war creates a profitable distraction for the pirates, Washington’s policy shift towards East Africa also appears to play a role in the piracy resurgence.
For years, the United States funded development projects in Somalia — particularly in coastal communities — to reduce poverty and prevent young people from joining pirate groups.
However, under the current Trump administration, almost all non-security development aid has been suspended. Washington is instead focusing on direct counter-terrorism operations against the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.
“When those resources are reduced, intelligence networks and maritime patrols no longer have the same capacity to operate,” lamented Burchall Henningsen.
Meanwhile, maritime organisations have advised shipping companies to avoid Somalia’s territorial waters, including its ports. The placement of armed guards