Somali Pirates Hijack Oil Tankers With Houthi Support

Somali pirates launched a surge of hijackings between April and July 2026, targeting the oil tankers MT Honour 25, MT Eureka, and MT Asana in the Gulf of Aden and off Puntland. The escalation follows the March 2026 closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which forced commercial shipping to divert around Africa and stretched naval resources thin as forces focused on the war against Iran.

Houthi militants coordinated the surge by providing Somali pirate cells with advanced weaponry, military training, and precision GPS tracking devices to distract Western navies. The terrorist group Al-Shabaab supported these operations by providing onshore logistics in exchange for up to 30% of ransom payouts. This coordinated network was incentivized by a previous ransom payment of $1.2 million to $1.5 million for the Chinese vessel Liao Dong Yu 578 in March 2026.

Current ransom demands include $10 million for the MT Eureka and $3 million for the MT Honour 25. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime identified these payments as a primary catalyst for the current wave of attacks.