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Piracy off Yemen, Somalia
Somali pirates hijacked the Eritrean-flagged oil products tanker M.T. Sibu 1 on Thursday about 136 nautical miles (252 kilometers) east of al-Mukalla, Yemen, and took it toward Somalia’s Puntland coast, according to a Somali maritime security official cited by the Associated Press.
“Six armed pirates hijacked the Eritrean-flagged M.T. Sibu 1 on Thursday about 136 nautical miles (252 kilometers) east of al-Mukalla, Yemen”
The Associated Press said the Sibu 1 had 20 crew members aboard: 16 Indians, one Syrian, one Sudanese, and one Iraqi, with the nationality of one crew member not immediately known.
The Associated Press reported that the hijacking came three days after pirates seized the Lutuf, a Cameroon-flagged general cargo vessel, off Somalia’s coast, and that the Lutuf had 10 crew aboard including six Indians, a Turkish national, a Georgian national and two Serbian security guards.
The South China Morning Post said the hijacking came amid a resurgence of piracy that had seen six commercial vessels seized since April across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean, and it described the Sibu 1 as sanctioned by the US Treasury Department last year for allegedly belonging to an Iranian “shadow fleet.”
India says crews safe
A senior shipping ministry official told NDTV that two commercial vessels with 22 Indians onboard were hijacked by armed pirates in separate incidents off Yemen and Somalia, and the official said all Indian crew members aboard both ships are safe.
NDTV reported that the first vessel, a Cameroon-flagged M/V LUTUF with 10 crew members including six Indians, was hijacked on August 17 off Somalia’s Puntland coast, while the second ship, an Eritrea-flagged oil-products tanker M.T. Sibu 1 carrying 20 crew members including 16 Indians, was hijacked on August 20 in the Gulf of Aden off the Yemeni coast.
The Rediff account said India’s High Commission in Kenya told authorities it had taken up the matter of Indian seafarers onboard vessels MT Sibu (Eritrea flagged) and MV Lutuf (Cameroon flagged), adding, "All Indian seafarers are reportedly safe."
Rediff also quoted External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying, "There are two vessels. Both of these vessels are foreign-flagged" and that 22 Indian national seafarers were on board in total—16 on one vessel and six on the other.
Hostages, sanctions, and risk
The Associated Press said Somali pirates hijacked the Sibu 1 as part of a resurgence that had seen six commercial vessels seized since April, and it reported that the International Maritime Bureau recorded 38 piracy and armed robbery incidents worldwide during the first half of 2026, including five hijackings.
“Somali pirates accounted for 94% of crew members taken hostage during that period”
The Associated Press reported that Somali pirates accounted for 94% of crew members taken hostage during that period, and it added that Puntland’s Security Ministry said its investigations indicated that forces beyond Puntland’s control were behind the renewed piracy.
An-Nahar described the tanker as subject to American sanctions and said the British Royal Navy Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported six armed men seized the tanker Seabo 1, also known as Simur, registered under the Eritrean flag, yesterday, Thursday.
An-Nahar also quoted Timothy Walker of the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria saying, "Piracy is always being contained, but it has never been eradicated completely," while it described the US Treasury Department’s sanctions as tied to a “shadow fleet” used to transport Iranian petroleum products.