There is growing concern over the resurgence of piracy in Somali waters, as experts observe a potential security gap developing in the Red Sea region. This renewed threat, according to analysts, is now intricately connected with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, suggesting a revival of maritime criminal activities akin to those of past decades.
The alarm was raised following a recent incident on May 2, when Yemen’s coast guard reported that an oil tanker was seized by armed men off the coast of Shabwa. The hijackers directed the ship toward the Gulf of Aden, but it has since been located, and recovery efforts are in progress, as reported by Reuters.
Ido Shalev, the Chief Operating Officer at RTCOM Defense, shared insights with Fox News Digital, highlighting a significant transformation in maritime dynamics. “We are witnessing a new era of instability in the region’s waters,” Shalev stated. He explained that Somali pirates and Houthi-associated factions have formed an alliance, employing both traditional skiffs and modern technology to launch coordinated attacks on vessels—a level of organization not seen in the past ten years.
Shalev noted that the rerouting of Saudi oil away from the Strait of Hormuz has inadvertently created an appealing target for these groups. “It’s a target-rich environment for them,” he said, emphasizing the strategic shifts at play.
In Somalia, members of the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) are actively patrolling the Gulf of Aden, working to safeguard the waters off Bosaso, within the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. This local force plays a critical role in monitoring and countering the resurgence of piracy.
“There is an opportunistic alignment at work,” Shalev further explained. “The Houthis offer geopolitical protection and supply advanced GPS and surveillance capabilities, while Somali groups provide the necessary manpower and expertise on the water.” This collaboration underscores the complex nature of the threat, requiring a concerted effort from regional and international stakeholders to address the evolving challenges.
With the MT Eureka taken off Shabwa, Shalev, a former Israeli naval officer, suggested what he called the “Somali model” had returned “with a vengeance.”
“This is a transactional collaboration, and in the exact area where the Houthis are active and would like to cause damage and support their IRGC sponsor,” he said before describing how pirates would hijack the entire ship and cargo, taking them to a secure anchorage “like Qandala or Garacad.”
“They then demand a ransom for the entire package: the vessel, the tens of millions of dollars in oil, and the crew,” he said.
Somali and Houthi-linked groups are teaming up using skiffs and new tech to strike ships with coordination not seen in a decade. (Jason R. Zalasky/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
The surge in regional risk is also exacerbated, Shalev said, by the volatility of the Strait of Hormuz. As Iranian-backed threats persist in the Persian Gulf, global energy flows are shifting.
“Due to the closure and instability of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has diverted millions of barrels of crude per day through its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu,” the former Israeli naval officer said.
“This creates a target-rich environment in a sector that was previously a backbound route. With Brent Crude prices surging — peaking near $115/bbl this quarter — the prize for a successful hijacking has never been higher.”
The risk level in waters off Somalia was recently upgraded to “substantial” following a wave of hijackings and attempted attacks that began April 21, according to Windward AI and alerts from the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
At least three vessels were hijacked within days: a Somali-flagged fishing boat on April 21, followed by the Palau-flagged tanker Honour 25 (IMO 1099735), and, by April 26, a general cargo ship seized and redirected to Garacad.
The surge in regional piracy risk is exacerbated by the volatility of the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian-backed threats persist in the Persian Gulf and global energy flows are shifting. (Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Cassandra Thompson/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
Shalev, who served as the lead architect for Nigeria’s “Falcon Eye” project — a surveillance system that successfully reduced piracy in those waters to 0% — warned that the distraction of global warships is being exploited.
“Because international naval forces are preoccupied with missile threats, a ‘security vacuum’ has now opened in the region, so pirates can travel vast distances in skiffs to board vulnerable commercial vessels,” he said.
“Somali piracy, which had been suppressed for years, has seen this sharp resurgence that also correlates perfectly with the Houthi crisis in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” Shalev said.
The Red Sea carries 12% to 15% of global trade and about 30% of container traffic, moving over $1 trillion in goods annually, including oil and LNG, according to reports.
“The current crisis proves that you cannot ‘patrol’ your way out of this; you have to see the threat before it ever reaches the ship,” Shalev said.
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