Suspected Somali pirates seize boat off Horn of Africa

Suspected Somali pirates have seized a Yemeni fishing boat off the Horn of Africa, authorities said late Monday.

An European naval operation in the Mideast (EUNAVFOR Atalanta) said the incident remained under investigation.

It said the attack targeted a dhow, a traditional ship that plies the waters of the Mideast, off the town of Eyl in Somalia.

The maritime security firm Ambrey said the attack saw the suspects steal three small boats equipped with 60-horsepower engines. Ambrey said early Tuesday “a suspected pirate action group has been sighted departing” off the coast of Eyl.

Once-rampant piracy off the Somali coast diminished after a peak in 2011. That year, there were 237 reported attacks in waters off Somalia. Somali piracy in the region at the time cost the world’s economy some $7 billion — with $160 million paid out in ransoms, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.

Increased international naval patrols, a strengthening central government in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, and other efforts saw the piracy beaten back.

However, Somali pirate attacks have resumed at a greater pace over the last year, in part due to the insecurity caused by Yemen's Houthi rebels launching their attacks in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

In 2024, there were seven reported incidents off Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau.