Seven attackers have captured a Tanzanian-flagged ship in the Gulf of Aden
Somali pirates have hijacked the Tanzanian-flagged oil and chemical tanker MT Asana off the coast of Yemen, a local news agency reported on Monday.
According to the Tanzanian newspaper The Citizen, the tanker has 20 crew members, including 10 Filipinos and eight Germans. Three Somali security officials also identified the captured vessel as the MT Asana in comments to the BBC. They said the attackers launched the operation from a remote area near the port city of Garacad before seizing the ship in the Gulf of Aden.
The ship was seized on Friday after leaving the Yemeni port of Mukalla, according to the Associated Press, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the incident.
The ship was en route to Bosaso in Somalia when seven armed pirates reportedly boarded the ship and forced it into Somali waters near Puntland.
UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has also confirmed that military officers tracked the vessel entering Somali waters and “he reclassified this incident as a kidnapping.” It said the case is still under investigation.
The Tanzanian authorities have not yet confirmed the full details of the incident. The Chief Government Spokesman, Gerson Msigwa said the leaders are working to verify the relationship of the ship in the country.
“We are following up, and once we get complete and accurate information, we will give official information to the public,” Msigwa said.
The hijacking is the second reported seizure of a ship from Yemen since May, when the oil tanker MT Eureka was hijacked near the port of Qana. It follows two other incidents of piracy in the Indian Ocean in April.
From 2008 to 2018, Somali pirates disrupted important waterways, causing widespread unrest. After a period of relative calm, pirate activity has begun to increase again. Piracy off the coast of Somalia reached its peak in 2011.
Earlier this month, the International Maritime Bureau of the International Chamber of Commerce (IMB) warned of a resurgence of piracy in Somalia despite a decline in global maritime attacks. According to the bureau, Somali pirates were responsible for 94% of all crew taken hostage worldwide in the first half of 2026.
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