Gunmen seize tanker off Yemen amid resurgence of Somali piracy

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UKMTO said on Thursday that it had received a report of an incident 136 nautical miles (252km) ⁠east of Yemen’s Al Mukalla, where the Seamull tanker, also known as SIBU 1, broadcast a distress call that it was being ⁠approached by an unauthorised ⁠vessel while travelling westwards in the Gulf of Aden.

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The maritime security monitor provided no further details and did not say ‌whether the tanker or its crew were safe.

Piracy was rampant off the coast of Somalia in the 2000s and peaked in 2011 before being curbed by international naval deployments and new security measures for commercial shipping.

The attack follows a marked resurgence since April in Somali piracy, which had been largely dormant for more than a decade until this year.

Five cargo ships are currently held hostage – including an oil tanker that was seized in July about 26 nautical miles (48km) off Yemen’s Hadramout province.

Analysts have said that naval forces are stretched thin by conflicts in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, causing international vessels to reroute and move closer to Somali waters.

As instability continues in the East African country, these factors have driven a renewed threat of piracy in the region.

• Y held hostage – including an oil tanker that was seized in July about 26 nautical miles (48km) off Yemen’s Hadramout province.