Northeastern State’s Maritime Police Forces have ramped up patrols in response to a recent surge in pirate activity off Northeastern State’s coast in Somalia. Photo by Abuukar Mohamed Muhidin/Anadolu/Getty Images
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Pirate rings in Somalia are seeing a resurgence, fueled by Iran-supported Houthi militants targeting the Red Sea, explained a European naval officer.
The Houthis, based in Yemen, began assaulting ships crossing the Red Sea last year, using these attacks to pressure Israel and its allies amidst the Gaza conflict.
The global shipping sector has felt the impact, with many vessels rerouting thousands of miles around southern Africa, consequently increasing carbon emissions and shipping costs as voyages lengthen.
Pirates “believe there’s an opportunity due to the Houthis’ activities,” leading to more traffic along Somalia’s shore and a wider reach into the Indian Ocean, noted Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva, head of a European Union anti-piracy mission. “They’re testing the limits of Western and international patrols.”
Villanueva outlined one method used by pirates: hijacking small skiffs or dhows and journeying deep into the Indian Ocean, targeting larger ships. He mentioned, on July 1, that although 10 recent attacks aimed at sizeable vessels, only one yielded a ransom.
Pirate raids are becoming bolder, involving groups that are “better armed and more numerous,” Villanueva emphasized.
“Each attack now involves 25 to 30 pirates,” he pointed out. “They’re highly coordinated, relying on satellite phones and heavy armaments.”
Since November, there have been 30 assaults on commercial and fishing vessels, and dhows. Among recent incidents, pirates took hostages in December on the Malta-flagged MV Ruen, necessitating a rescue operation by Indian, Japanese, and Spanish warships, freeing its 18 crew members. This marked the first successful hijacking off Somalia since 2017, as per the International Maritime Bureau.
Somalia’s piracy wave began with the civil war in the early 1990s and intensified in the 2000s when Ethiopian forces dethroned an Islamist regime. Piracy peaked in 2011, with 237 recorded incidents, 32 vessels captured, and 736 hostages, according to EU Naval Force data.
In the past month, Houthi militants executed the most attacks on commercial ships seen in 2024, targeting 16 vessels, based on statistics from regional naval forces.
