IMO Sounds Alarm as Somali Pirates Hold More Than 90 Seafarers

The International Maritime Organization is calling for urgent action against a resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, where six merchant ships and more than 90 seafarers are now being held captive.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez issued the warning following the August 20 hijacking of the tanker Seamull, also known as Sibu 1, the second vessel seized by suspected Somali pirates in a matter of days.

“With the most recent highjack, a sixth vessel is being held by pirates and armed robbers in waters that are becoming too dangerous for seafarers,” Dominguez said.

“More than 90 innocent seafarers are now being held captive, their lives subject to constant uncertainty and threat,” he added, calling for their immediate and unconditional release.

The warning comes as Somali piracy, largely pushed out of the headlines in recent years, is again becoming a problem for ships moving between the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.

The Joint Maritime Information Center said in its latest assessment that six merchant vessels remain in captivity in the region: Honour 25, Sward, Eureka, Asana, Lutuf and Seamull.

Two of those seizures have occurred in the past week.

The general cargo ship Lutuf was hijacked on August 17 after eight armed attackers boarded the vessel about four nautical miles south of Mareeyo on Somalia’s Puntland coast.

Three days later, six armed men boarded Seamull roughly 136 nautical miles east of Al Mukalla, Yemen, while the tanker was sailing west through the Gulf of Aden. The attackers took control and diverted the vessel toward Somalia.

The 32,200-dwt tanker had been operating under the name Sibu 1 and reportedly broadcast “PIRATE ONBOARD HELP” over AIS before changing course. It is now anchored off Somalia’s east coast, according to JMIC.

Seamull was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in December 2025 as part of a broader crackdown on Iran’s sanctions-evading tanker fleet. Treasury said the vessel had transported Iranian petroleum products on multiple occasions and had also called at Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen.

The two August hijackings follow a string of successful seizures earlier this year. Honour 25 and Sward have been held since April, while Eureka was taken in May and Asana in July.

The timing is particularly notable because the southwest monsoon typically makes it difficult for Somali pirates to operate far offshore in small boats. JMIC said rough conditions are still restricting extended-range skiff operations, but sheltered coastal waters continue to give pirate groups room to operate.

The seizure of Seamull well out in the Gulf of Aden also shows that pirates remain capable of reaching ships beyond Somalia’s immediate coastline.

JMIC currently rates the threat in the Gulf of Aden as “substantial,” reflecting both piracy and the continuing threat from Houthi attacks. The Somali coast and Somali Basin remain at a “moderate” threat level.

Dominguez warned that piracy risks being overlooked as governments and naval forces focus on other conflicts affecting shipping in the region.

“While international focus has been drawn to other areas of heightened tension, we cannot allow the resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and surrounding waters to go unaddressed,” he said.

He urged flag and coastal states to ensure ships are prepared for the threat and called for continued use of industry best management practices and IMO security guidance.

Dominguez also called for renewed international naval cooperation, pointing to the coordinated effort that helped bring the previous Somali piracy crisis under control.

“The international community has successfully confronted this threat before, and it must do so again,” he said.

The resurgence adds yet another security problem for ships operating across the Middle East and western Indian Ocean, where crews are already contending with Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and the continuing disruption surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.

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