Two vessels carrying 22 Indian seafarers hijacked by pirates off Yemen and Somalia

An Eritrea-flagged oil products tanker and a Cameroon-flagged cargo ship carrying a total of 22 Indian nationals were seized by armed pirates in separate incidents this week off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia.

The larger incident involved the MT Sibu 1, also known previously as Seamull. Armed pirates boarded the vessel on 20 August in the Gulf of Aden, about 30 nautical miles off the Yemen coast. The tanker carried 20 crew members, of whom 16 were Indian. The remaining crew included one Syrian, one Sudanese, one Iraqi and one of unconfirmed nationality.

According to a senior Shipping Ministry official, six armed pirates took control of the ship and diverted its course toward Somalia. The Recruitment and Placement Service Licence agency for the vessel, S K S Krishi Marine Services, confirmed the boarding and has been directed to file reports through the e-Navik marine casualty system.

Three days earlier, on 17 August, a Cameroon-flagged general cargo carrier named Lutuf was hijacked off Somalia’s Puntland coast, roughly 3.5 nautical miles from Marraya in the Eyl district. That ship carried 10 crew members, six of them Indian. Reports indicated the vessel was transporting Turkish weapons, communications and satellite equipment.

Sources familiar with the matter said both groups of Indian seafarers remain safe. The shipping companies are working closely with Indian authorities. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre issued alerts for both incidents, noting the presence of armed unauthorised persons.

MT Sibu 1 had drawn prior attention. The United States sanctioned the vessel in December 2025 under its former name for alleged participation in Iranian petroleum trade as part of the so-called shadow fleet. That history places the tanker in a category of vessels already under heightened scrutiny in the region.

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa has fluctuated over the past decade. Naval patrols by international coalitions reduced attacks after the peak years of 2008 to 2012. The two seizures in a three-day span mark a noticeable uptick. The first vessel was forced to alter course toward the Somali coast, a pattern seen in earlier cases where pirates sought safe havens in Puntland waters.

Indian seafarers form a substantial share of the global merchant fleet workforce. Any incident involving them triggers immediate coordination between the Ministry of Shipping, the Directorate General of Shipping and the companies that hold the recruitment licences. In this case, the official statement emphasised that the latest information confirmed the Indians on both ships were unharmed.

The Gulf of Aden remains a critical corridor for oil and commercial traffic between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. Disruptions there raise insurance costs and force operators to adjust routing. The presence of a previously sanctioned tanker among the seized vessels may also draw additional attention from US and other enforcement agencies monitoring Iranian oil movements.

As of 21 August, no public statement has detailed the precise demands of the pirates or any contact established with the crews. The focus of Indian authorities remains the safety of the 22 nationals and the recovery of the vessels through established maritime security channels.

The two incidents together illustrate the persistent vulnerability of commercial shipping in the western Indian Ocean even after years of coordinated naval presence. Whether they signal a broader resurgence or remain isolated events will become clearer as further details emerge from the shipping companies and regional monitoring centres.