Somali pirates briefly hijack vessel in Gulf of Aden

• Crew disabled the ship and secured themselves inside the safe room.
• Pirates fled after a Japanese warship deployed a helicopter; piracy attacks surged in 2026.

Somali pirates briefly seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen before abandoning the vessel following a naval intervention, the European Naval Force and security sources in the autonomous Puntland region reported on Saturday.

The attack occurred on Thursday when six armed men boarded the MT Glamour, an oil tanker sailing under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, while the vessel was navigating approximately 38 nautical miles (70 kilometers) off the coast. Security sources in Puntland stated the attackers launched their assault from a small coastal village.

The brief seizure comes amid a sharp resurgence in maritime piracy off the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden since April.

According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), at least 15 attacks have been recorded in 2026, marking a record level of activity not observed since 2013.

Naval presence forces retreat 

Upon identifying the threat, the crew of the MT Glamour immediately stopped the vessel, powered down its operational systems, and locked themselves within the ship’s reinforced safe room (citadel) prior to the pirates’ boarding.

The standoff ended after a Japanese warship deployed to the scene and dispatched helicopters to perform overflights of the hijacked tanker, prompting the six gunmen to flee the vessel, according to Puntland authorities.

The incident follows the release of the cargo ship MV Sword on Friday.

The vessel and its 17-member crew had been held by Somali pirates since April, with security sources and Puntland authorities confirming that a ransom was paid to secure their release.

Despite the resolution of these two cases, four other oil tankers—the Honor 25, Eureka, Asana, and Simol—remain under the control of Somali pirates who seized them near the Somali coastline earlier this year.

In December, the United States imposed sanctions on the Simol (also operating as SIBU 1), identifying it as part of Iran’s “shadow fleet” utilized to transport Iranian crude oil via covert shipping practices.