Pirates hijack oil tanker with 17 crew off Somali coast

Saturday April 25, 2026

Somali pirates have seized an oil tanker off the country’s northeastern coast, underscoring a renewed threat on a sea lane long watched by global naval forces. A maritime policeman guarded an oil tanker after its release. Somali pirates have hijacked four ships in the past month.Credit…Abdiqani Hassan/Reuters

Mogadishu (AX) — Somali pirates hijacked an oil tanker carrying 18,500 barrels of fuel and 17 crew members off Somalia’s northeastern coast, officials said Friday.

The vessel, named Honour 25, was taken late Wednesday by at least six armed men roughly 30 nautical miles from shore, according to security officials in Puntland State.

The tanker, which was headed to Mogadishu, is now anchored near the coastline between the fishing towns of Xaafun and Bander Beyla, officials said. They added that additional armed men have since boarded the ship.

The crew consists of 17 foreign nationals: ten Pakistanis, four Indonesians, one Indian, one Sri Lankan and one from Myanmar. Their condition remains unclear.

Authorities believe the attackers set out from a remote coastal area near Bander Beyla, though how they managed to intercept the vessel has not been confirmed.

The hijacking is likely to deepen concern in Mogadishu, where fuel prices have already climbed sharply amid regional tensions tied to the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict.

Neither Somalia’s federal government nor international naval forces operating in the area have issued an official statement on the incident.

Piracy along Somalia’s coast fell dramatically over the past decade after international patrols and tighter security measures took hold. But attacks have resurfaced in recent years, often targeting fishing boats and commercial ships, stoking fears of a wider comeback along one of the world’s most important maritime corridors.