Pirates have seized a merchant vessel off Somalia, maritime monitors said Monday, in the latest sign of renewed piracy activity around the Horn of Africa.
Eight people boarded and took control of the ship near Marraye, Somalia, according to alerts from UK Maritime Trade Operations and the EU’s Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO). Neither agency identified the vessel.
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“The crew is reported safe at this time,” MSCIO said.
Somalia’s piracy crisis was at its height in the 2000s, peaking in 2011. International naval patrols, along with stronger security measures adopted by commercial ships, later brought attacks down sharply.
Activity has increased again this year.
Three tankers carrying oil and fertilizer were captured in April and May and remain held off Somalia’s coast. In July, pirates seized a chemical tanker in Yemeni waters and took it to the Somali coast.
The latest attacks add another layer of danger for vessels using the Red Sea, an increasingly important shipping corridor since Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula.
