Tag: pirates
Singapore Strait tops piracy board in 2025 first quarter
The Gulf of Guinea, long regarded as the international piracy hotspot, was overtaken in the first quarter of the year by the Singapore Strait.
The...
Suspected pirate attack on Yemeni-flagged fishing boat off Puntland coast
A suspected piracy-related incident involving a Yemeni-flagged fishing vessel occurred on 16 March off the coast of Durdura, near Eyl, in northern Puntland, Somalia....
Somali pirates release Yemeni fishing boat
Somali pirates who hijacked the Yemeni-flagged fishing boat Saytuun-2 last week have released the vessel after stealing crew belongings.
The Saytuun-2 was captured off Garmaal...
Yemeni dhow hijacking ends without loss of life
Five days after it was hijacked by pirates, the Yemeni fishing vessel Al Najma was again under the command and control of her own...
Piracy slightly down in 2024, IMB warns against complacency
In the just-ended calendar year, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recorded 116 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships – four less than...
Chinese fishing vessel “liberated” from Somali pirates
Six weeks after surveillance was mounted on a Chinese fishing vessel pirated off Somalia, the unnamed vessel was “liberated” on Monday 13 January.
A four...
Somali pirates capture Chinese fishing vessel
Heavily armed Somali pirates have captured a Chinese fishing vessel off the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, the European Union’s anti-piracy naval force Atalanta has...
New Somali piracy threats require partnerships and holistic responses
Signs of a potential Somali piracy resurgence have emerged in 2024, most recently with the European Union Naval Force Operation ATALANTA reporting a suspected...
Maritime security conference in Stellenbosch highlights urgent need for regional cooperation
The third international Conference on Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea and the Red Sea brought together maritime experts, policymakers, and military leaders...
Somali piracy surges as new threat diverts resources
Gun-wielding pirates in two small boats attacked a Liberian-flagged cargo ship, the Basilisk, as it sailed about 380 nautical miles east of Somalia on...
Seychelles demonstrates how smaller nations can effectively combat piracy
The Topaz, a Seychelles Coast Guard vessel, abruptly altered its direction in January when it was alerted to a Somali pirate attack on a...
Kenya and European Union hold first joint naval exercise
The longstanding European Union (EU) Naval Force in the Indian Ocean – Operation Atalanta – marked up a first this month when it successfully...
EU naval force frees vessel from pirates off Somalia
Pirates have tried to hijack a merchant vessel off Somalia, but were beaten back by European warships patrolling the region in the most recent...
Chrystal Arctic suspects await trial in Seychelles holding facility
Delivery of suspected pirates to Seychelles authorities five days after an attack on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden stands as an...
Piracy rears its head once more with another attack in the...
Half a dozen pirates have been apprehended by Operation Atalanta naval forces after an attempted attack on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of...
MV Abdullah released by Somali pirates, apparently after ransom paid
The Bangladesh-flagged Merchant Vessel Abdullah, captured over a month ago by Somali pirates, has been released along with its 23 crew, apparently after a...
Indian Navy rescues another pirated ship
The Indian Navy has liberated yet another vessel from pirates off the coast of Somalia in the fifth such operation this year.
An Indian Navy...
Pirates move Abdullah into Somali territorial waters to avoid rescue attempt
The Somali pirates who captured the bulk carrier Abdullah (IMO 9745598) 600 miles off the African coast have moved the ship close inshore to...
Report: Al-Shabaab extends reach with offer to protect Somali pirates
After a six-year lull in major attacks, Somali pirates in December attacked four vessels as international navies relocated from the Indian Ocean to the...
Indian Navy retakes MV Ruen from Somali pirates
In a well-coordinated operation that lasted some 40 hours, the Indian Navy has retaken the ship MV Ruen from Somali pirates, rescuing the 17...
Hijacked merchant vessel Abdullah at anchor off Somalia, crew apparently safe
At least 12 alleged pirates are confirmed by Operation Atlanta personnel to be aboard the hijacked bulk carrier Abdullah, now at anchor some 600...
Bulk carrier Abdullah highjacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean as...
Pirates have seized a Bangladeshi-flagged and owned ship, the bulk carrier Abdullah, en route from the port of Maputo in Mozambique. The vessel was...
West Africa’s coast was a haven for piracy and illegal fishing...
The Gulf of Guinea – a coastal region that stretches from Senegal to Angola – is endowed with vast reserves of hydrocarbon, mineral and...
Indian Navy rescues another pirated vessel off Somalia
The Indian Navy has foiled two hijackings by Somali pirates within days, rescuing 19 crew in the latest incident off the Horn of Africa.
The...
IMB concerned about first ship hijacking off Somalia in six years
The just released 2023 International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy report notes a slight increase in incidents and expresses concern over the first successful hijacking...
Indian Navy rescues crew from hijacked ship off Somalia
The Indian Navy has rescued all 21 crew members from the MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea after it was boarded by...
EU monitoring hijacked vessel off Somalia
The European Union Naval Force (EU NavFor) is closely monitoring the hijacked Maltese-flagged merchant vessel Ruen, which remains off the Somali coast.
In a statement,...
Somali pirates are back in action but a full scale return...
An Iranian fishing vessel, Almeraj 1, was reportedly hijacked by Somali pirates in November 2023. According to media reports, the pirates demanded $400 000...
Suspected pirates apprehended off Somalia
Suspected pirates aboard a hijacked Iranian fishing boat have surrendered to Somali police after being monitored by European Union Operation Atalanta assets.
On 22 November,...
Somali pirates strike again as Iranian fishing vessel highjacked
After a lull of several years, Somali pirates are back in the news with reports of them having successfully attacked and seized an Iranian...
Here’s why Somali piracy, once an unsolvable security threat, has almost...
In 2011, pirates carried out 212 attacks in a vast area spanning Somali waters, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Gulf of...
Liberian Coast Guard rescues hijacked Chinese fishing vessel
The Liberian Coast Guard has rescued 23 crew from a Chinese fishing vessel that was hijacked off the country’s coastline.
The Armed Forces of Liberia...
Piracy in West Africa dropped in 2022, but criminals are moving...
Piracy and maritime crime continued to decline in the Gulf of Guinea last year, largely in response to heightened regional and international anti-piracy efforts,...
Bulker Nyon boarded by pirates off West Africa
The bulk carrier Nyon is the latest ship to have been attacked by West African pirates after being boarded by four armed men on...
Piracy at lowest level in three decades helps reduce annual ship...
Maritime piracy is at its lowest level in nearly three decades, with the improved situation in the Gulf of Guinea contributing to the downward...
Where climate harms fisheries, piracy prospers – study
A new study suggests that climate change is a key factor driving trends in maritime piracy off the coast of East Africa and the...
Another vessel boarded by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea
The Singapore-flagged tanker Success 9 has been boarded by pirates off the Ivory Coast in the latest attack in the region.
Security company Praesidium International...
Combating piracy in the world’s most dangerous waters
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution on combating piracy in West Africa.
Norway and Ghana introduced the initiative and led the...
ISS: Is Somali piracy finally under control?
Piracy off the coast of Somalia has long captivated the attention of the media and governments. But the expiry of the United Nations Security...
UN authorisation to fight piracy in Somali waters lapses
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has not extended a resolution for the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea within Somalia’s territorial...
Apparent decline in West African piracy should be treated with caution
A decline last year in piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which has for some time been the epicentre of maritime crime, should be...
Gulf of Guinea states must act and prosecute suspected pirates, BIMCO...
States in the Gulf of Guinea region must take responsibility and step-up prosecution efforts when pirates are apprehended by international navies, the Baltic and...
Maritime momentum in West Africa
On 15 May 2020, 10 pirates boarded the Chinese-flagged Hailufeng 11, subdued the 18 crew members and turned off its automatic identification system (AIS)....
Six crew kidnapped off container ship in the Gulf of Guinea
Six crew members have been kidnapped from the container vessel Tonsberg in the Gulf of Guinea in the latest pirate attack in the region.
The...
UN Security Council adopts resolution to keep Somali pirates at bay
The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution to combat the continuing threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia, as shipping and protection...
Danish frigate kills four pirates in Gulf of Guinea
A Danish frigate has killed four pirates in waters south of Nigeria in an operation to protect shipping in the Gulf of Guinea, the...
Russian Navy fends off pirates in the Gulf of Guinea
A Russian Navy destroyer has fended off a pirate attack on a container ship near the western coast of Africa, Russia’s Defence Ministry said...
Iran’s navy thwarts pirate attack on Iranian tanker – report
Iranian naval forces intervened on Saturday to repel pirates who attacked an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, Iran's state media reported.
Pirates...
Piracy down, but African countries still need to do more to...
The seas off West Africa, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, have been a hotspot for increasingly violent maritime crime, particularly piracy. In 2020,...
Crewmember apparently kidnapped by pirates off Gabon
Pirates operating off Libreville, Gabon, appear to have kidnapped a crewmember after boarding the offshore supply vessel Tampen.
Dryad Global reported that the vessel was...
