Iran-Linked Tanker Seized as Somali Piracy Resurges Off Yemen Coast

An oil tanker previously sanctioned by the United States for its alleged role in transporting Iranian petroleum products has been boarded and diverted towards Somalia, in the latest sign of a sharp resurgence in Somali piracy.

The Eritrea-flagged vessel, identified as the Sibu 1, was seized on Thursday by six armed individuals, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The tanker had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury last December over its suspected involvement in a shadow fleet designed to help Iranian petroleum evade American sanctions.

This incident marks at least the 13th vessel attacked this year off the coast of Somalia or in the Gulf of Aden, the strategic waterway separating Somalia and Yemen. Data from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) and UKMTO reports indicate that the region saw only five such attacks during the entirety of 2025, underscoring the dramatic uptick in maritime crime.

The development evokes memories of the period between 2008 and 2014, when hundreds of attacks by Somali pirates created a major security crisis in the western Indian Ocean, costing the global economy billions of dollars, including hundreds of millions in ransom payments. A coordinated international naval response largely suppressed those attacks, and a subsequent wave of hijackings in 2023 and 2024 also subsided following robust military intervention.

However, experts caution that the underlying drivers of piracy, rooted in poor economic conditions and insecurity within Somalia, remain unaddressed, leaving the threat poised to re-emerge at any time. "The piracy was always suppressed. It was never really fully eradicated," noted Timothy Walker, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.

Analysts point to the ongoing conflict involving Iran as a contributing factor to the current surge. Elevated oil prices have made tankers more lucrative targets, while naval assets previously dedicated to anti-piracy patrols have been redeployed to the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea to counter threats from Iran and its Houthi allies in Yemen.

Some observers have suggested possible collaboration between the Houthis and Somali pirates, particularly after several vessels were seized near the Yemeni coast. Yet, Jay Bahadur, a researcher and co-director of the Scopus Insights consultancy, expressed deep scepticism about direct Houthi involvement in the recent hijackings, given the seizure of an Iran-linked vessel like the Sibu 1. Instead, he highlighted evidence of support for Somali pirates from Yemeni nationals, particularly through arms trafficking networks.

"You're having these traditional, longstanding relationships built around arms trafficking and human smuggling built up between Yemeni criminal actors and Somali criminal actors," Bahadur explained.