The return of piracy off Somalia... a map of attacks on ships since 2023

The waters off the coast of Somalia are witnessing an increasing return to maritime piracy activity, after years of decline, in light of the repercussions of the war with Iran and the escalation of Houthi attacks on commercial ships. The shift in focus of US naval forces towards the Gulf and the Bab al-Mandab Strait has contributed to the reduction of anti-piracy patrols off Somalia, which has provided pirates with an opportunity to resume ship hijackings and demand ransoms amounting to millions of dollars.

According to a 2013 report by the World Bank, Somali pirates cost the global economy approximately $18 billion annually. Western governments have moved to confront this; NATO, the European Union, and the US-led Combined Maritime Task Force have successfully reduced piracy over a decade, with only two successful hijackings recorded between 2013 and 2023.

The US Navy played a leadership role in this multilateral operation, in which 47 countries participated. One of the most prominent incidents was the hijacking of the fuel tanker “Honor 25” on April 21, while it was transporting 2,700 tons of diesel from the Sultanate of Oman to Somalia.

The pirates detained the 17 crew members for more than five months, and initially demanded a ransom of $7 million, before reducing it to $1 million. The crisis ended with the killing of five crew members during an operation to free the ship in late September.

The oil tanker MT Eureka was also hijacked off the coast of Yemen, an indication of the expansion of the scope of Somali pirate operations to areas beyond their traditional scope of activity. Maritime security experts link the escalation of these attacks to the rise in fuel prices, deteriorating economic conditions, and drought in Somalia, in addition to the fact that some ships were forced to approach the Somali coast to avoid Houthi threats.

This escalation raises growing concerns about the security of maritime trade routes, with insurance and shipping costs rising, and some ships resorting to longer and more expensive routes to avoid dangerous areas.