Oil tanker hijacked off Yemen heads toward Somalia as Gulf of Aden piracy rises
Yemen’s Coast Guard says oil tanker M/T Eureka was hijacked off Shabwa and is heading toward Somalia amid a surge in piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
The M/T Eureka was seized by armed assailants off Yemen’s southeastern Shabwa province and steered into the Gulf of Aden, the coastguard said in a statement on May 2, 2026. Yemeni authorities said they are attempting to recover the vessel and have warned that the crew’s whereabouts and condition remain unclear. Officials linked the incident to a recent uptick in maritime crime near Somalia, attributing the resurgence to regional security shifts and diverted naval patrols.
Hijacked oil tanker M/T Eureka heads toward Somalia
Yemen’s coastguard reported that armed boarders took control of the M/T Eureka and navigated the vessel toward Somali waters. The seizure took place in international waters off the country’s southeastern coast, according to the statement issued on Saturday. Authorities said the tanker was carrying a commercial cargo of oil and that immediate efforts were under way to track the ship’s movement.
Coast Guard seeks international coordination to recover the vessel
Yemeni officials said they are coordinating with international partners and relevant authorities operating in the Gulf of Aden to secure the tanker’s retrieval. The coastguard stressed that response operations involve diplomatic channels and naval liaison to maximise chances of a peaceful recovery. At the same time, Yemen acknowledged that its operational capacity is limited by severe economic and logistical constraints.
UKMTO and EU naval forces warn of rising threat
Maritime security organisations have raised alerts for the Somali coastline and adjacent sea lanes following several recent seizures. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) flagged the region as carrying a “substantial” piracy threat, advising vessels to transit with caution. European Union naval officials have likewise described a widening opportunity for criminal groups to strike while patrol patterns are disrupted.
Recent spate of seizures underscores growing pattern
The hijacking of the M/T Eureka is at least the fourth such incident near Somalia in recent weeks, signalling a sharp increase in attacks. Analysts cited by regional authorities noted an incident on April 21 where a tanker carrying roughly 18,000 barrels of oil was seized, followed by two further takeovers within days. The cluster of events has heightened concern among shipping operators and insurers about the safety of routes linking the Arabian Peninsula to international markets.
Regional naval diversion linked to opportunity for pirates
Officials and analysts say the escalation in maritime crime is tied to a realignment of naval resources across the wider region. Forces that formerly concentrated on anti-piracy patrols off Somalia have been redirected to the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait to address recent hostilities and blockades near the Strait of Hormuz. The reallocation of assets created gaps in coverage, which maritime criminal networks have increasingly exploited.
Yemen’s operational limits and crew safety concerns
Yemen’s coastguard warned that limited funding, equipment shortages and the country’s broader economic crisis hamper its response to complex maritime incidents. Those constraints complicate search-and-rescue and interdiction operations at a time when timely action can be decisive. The fate of the M/T Eureka’s crew remains a primary concern for both Yemeni authorities and international partners involved in the response.
The resurgence of piracy in waters off Somalia recalls an earlier era when the coastline was a global piracy hotspot, provoking a multinational naval response that drove incidents down by the mid-2010s. The current spike has prompted calls from shipping industry representatives for renewed coordination among navies, private operators and regional governments to protect commercial traffic. As investigations continue and the M/T Eureka’s course is monitored, maritime stakeholders say restoring robust patrol coverage and intelligence sharing will be essential to preventing further hijackings.
