A Pirate Action Group that hijacked earlier this month a vessel off Yemen remains onboard, according to EU naval force officials.
The European Union naval military operation EUNAVFOR Operation ATALANTA confirmed on Sunday, July 19 that the vessel is currently reported to be approximately 19 nautical miles from Bereeda, Somalia, and continues to proceed towards Somali waters.
All vessels operating in the area are strongly advised to maintain heightened vigilance, adhere to BMP-MS, particularly within 150 nautical miles off the Somali coast between Bereeda and Mogadishu, and report immediately any suspicious activity or relevant information to the Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO) and to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre.
Chronology of the incident:
France-headquartered MSCIO received information regarding an incident at 06:30 UTC on July 17, 2026, 65 nautical miles southwest of Mukalla, Yemen, north of the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC).
MSCIO was informed that the vessel was hijacked by a pirate action group and was underway towards the Horn of Africa.
UK Maritime Trade Operations initially reported that unauthorised personnel had boarded a merchant vessel whilst transiting east in the Gulf of Aden. According to UKMTO, the incident occurred 65 nautical miles south of Al Mukalla, Yemen on July 17.
UKMTO did not disclose the name of the vessel. In an updated advisory, military authorities informed UKMTO that the vessel had been maneuvered into Somali territorial waters, prompting the agency to reclassify the incident as a hijacking.
MSCIO, an initiative of the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) ATALANTA established to enhance maritime security across the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, and Persian Gulf, said operation ATALANTA was “investigating the incident and monitoring the ship.”
Security services specialist in maritime Ambrey said a chemical/oil tanker was boarded by a suspected pirate action group whilst underway approximately 62 nautical miles southwest of Mukalla. The pirate action group was reportedly armed. At the time of writing, a Republic of Korea naval vessel was en route to the tanker to provide assistance.
According to Ambrey, the tanker did not have an armed security team when the incident occurred.
It was not immediately clear how many crew members were aboard the tanker or whether anyone had been injured. There was no immediate information on the nationalities of the crew members.
The hijacking is the latest in a series of attacks attributed to Somali pirates, whose activities have resurfaced in the region where piracy appears to be making a comeback.
“This is not an isolated incident. Somali piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean has been climbing for months, with at least one active pirate action group operating in the region,” Windward stressed, adding that local reports now place the ship off Puntland.
