Palaemon Maritime’s maritime security report this week points to some of the clearest indicators yet that piracy activity off Somalia is escalating again.
“Taken alone, these incidents might appear isolated. Taken together, they point to something more important: the conditions that enable piracy are building again in the Western Indian Ocean.”
Most recently, Palaemon cites a possible hijacking of a dhow off the southern Somali coast, multiple suspicious approaches and aggressive small craft activity in the region, and intelligence reports indicating that an active pirate group is preparing to conduct attacks against merchant vessels operating off the coast of Somalia. The exact nature, timing and intended targets of the threat have not been specified at this stage.
Meanwhile others are already suffering from the escalation. This week, Ambreen Fatima protested in Karachi with her children for the release of her husband, one of 10 Pakistani crew aboard the oil tanker Honour 25 seized by Somali pirates on April 21. He is now drinking dirty tank water to survive, she says.
The MT Honour 25 was seized approximately 30 nautical miles off Somalia’s Puntland region with 17 crew members aboard.
At least three vessels were hijacked off Puntland in April, prompting a “substantial” threat-level warning from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.
Meanwhile, Somali pirates have reportedly increased their ransom demand for the release of the tanker Eureka from $3 million to $10 million. The Eureka was hijacked on May 2 off the coast of Yemen by armed Somali pirates.
Recent commentary in the media points to the diversion of naval ships away from anti-piracy activity due to other priorities in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz, an increase in fuel prices making tankers a valuable target, and the suspension of US funding for development projects in Somalia.
The resurgence of Somali piracy highlights that naval missions have only addressed symptoms, leaving deep-seated causes like political instability and extreme poverty unresolved, says geopolitical analyst Tommaso Franco in an editorial published by the Australian Institute of International Affairs.
“Born as coastal self-defence, Somali piracy has mutated into a high-precision ransom industry, capable of challenging global navies and rewriting local welfare. Pirates legitimise their attacks with a Robin Hood narrative, presented as a defence of the common good. By guaranteeing a level of prosperity that Mogadishu cannot offer and redistributing the proceeds, they gain protection from local communities and territorial and social control within a fragmented political system.”
