Boats float near the coast of Bab el-Mandeb, in Yemen, on April 2, 2026. (Credit: Reuters photo)
A tanker was hijacked Saturday by armed men off the Yemeni coast and steered toward Somalia, Yemeni coast guard officials said.
The maritime threat level off Somalia was raised to “significant” on Monday by the JMIC maritime security information center, following several suspected pirate attacks — the first in months.
The tanker EUREKA was “hijacked off the coast of Yemen’s Shabwah province,” the coast guard said on its website.
Unidentified armed men “boarded the vessel, took control and steered it toward the Gulf of Aden in the direction of the Somali coast,” it added.
“The vessel has been located and efforts are underway to track it and take the necessary measures to attempt its recovery and ensure the safety of its crew,” the statement said, without specifying the number or nationality of those on board.
According to the MarineTraffic website, EUREKA is a tanker carrying refined products and sails under the flag of Togo.
The coast guard operates under Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which controls only part of the country, with large areas held by Houthi rebels for the past decade.
The Houthis have carried out numerous attacks on vessels they consider linked to Israel off Yemen’s coast.
Somalia, which has faced instability for more than 30 years, borders the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, a strategic maritime corridor connecting to the Red Sea and one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
After peaking in 2011, piracy off Somalia had sharply declined, thanks in part to the deployment of international naval forces, the creation of a maritime police force in Puntland, and measures taken by commercial shipowners.
However, two vessels, the tanker Honour 25 and the cargo ship M/V Sward, were hijacked off Somalia on April 21 and 26, respectively.
Security officials in Puntland told AFP this week that the hijacking of the Sward was carried out by a new group of “opportunistic criminals.”
The hijacking of EUREKA comes as the effective closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, amid the conflict between Iran and the United States, disrupts global maritime traffic and forces shipowners to seek alternative routes.
