Oil tanker hijacked off Yemen

Unidentified attackers hijacked an oil tanker off Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, then steered the vessel towards Somalia.

The Yemeni coast guard announced today that the oil tanker EUREKA was boarded and taken control of by a group of individuals off Shabwa province, then steered towards the coast of Somalia.

The coast guard committed to investigating the incident but has not yet disclosed the number or nationality of the crew members on board the tanker.

"We have located the vessel and are monitoring it, implementing necessary measures to rescue the ship and ensure the safety of its crew," the Yemeni coast guard stated.

According to the maritime tracking website MarineTraffic, the EUREKA is a Togo-flagged oil product tanker. It was last observed at the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates in late March.

A fire on an oil tanker struck by a Houthi missile in the Gulf of Aden, off Yemen in 2024. Photo: AP

Piracy was rampant off the coast of Somalia in the 2000s, peaking in 2011 with hundreds of attacks. However, it significantly declined afterward due to the presence of international naval forces and new countermeasures implemented by the shipping industry.

Despite the previous decline, the European Union (EU) naval mission off Somalia reported an increase in pirate attacks in recent weeks. Operation Atalanta, the EU naval force in Somalia, tracked three attacks in late April.

Since 28/2, cargo shipping in the region has also been disrupted due to the regional conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran-backed groups. However, there is no indication that the hijacking of the EUREKA tanker is connected to this broader conflict.

Last month, a new pirate group operating from the port town of Garacad in Puntland state, northeastern Somalia, seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, local security officials reported.