Somali Pirate boat – Photo by Jason R. Zalasky/US Navy/Wiki Commons
Houthis are now reportedly arming and equipping the pirates.
As the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, hundreds of commercial ships have been redirected to longer routes around Africa – and now, Somali pirates are taking full advantage of that, exploiting the increase in traffic to ramp up the attacks.
Yesterday, an unnamed cargo ship was seized by armed men off the coast of Somalia, according to international monitors.
Somali pirates hijack cargo ship https://t.co/Cfp3PBwpyr
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 18, 2026
Euronews reported:
“UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and EU Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean (MSCIO) both issued alerts that the vessel had been boarded by eight armed individuals near the Horn of Africa.
The UKMTO post advised vessels to ‘transit with caution and report any suspicious activity’. MSCIO said, ‘The crew is reported safe at this time’.
Piracy on the Horn had fallen after raging through the 2000s and peaking around 2011; but 2026 has seen an uptick in activity, with several ships seized by pirates.”
UKMTO WARNING 114-26
Click here to view the full warninghttps://t.co/LJkT28JHwA#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/y5GROR0ufE
— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) August 17, 2026
OilPrice reported:
“Unlike the disorganized bands of the early 2000s, today’s Somali pirates are ranging much farther from shore, and their operations have become much more sophisticated. And perhaps even more concerning, according to reports from a UN panel of experts, there is now direct coordination between Yemeni militants and Somali networks.
In exchange for creating maritime chaos to keep Western navies distracted, the Houthis have supplied Somali pirate cells with advanced weaponry, military training and precision GPS tracking devices to pinpoint commercial hulls.
[…] Intelligence reports indicate the [Al-Shabbab] group receives a generous cut of up to 30% from successful maritime ransom payouts.”
Eight armed pirates boarded and took control of a merchant vessel near Marraye, Somalia, on Monday, with maritime security monitors confirming that the crew remains safe.https://t.co/bmpF4KLQuA
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) August 17, 2026
Read more:
The post Another Cargo Ship Hijacked as Somali Piracy Surges After Strait of Hormuz Closure appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
