There has been an uptick in pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia, and a ship linked to Iran’s alleged attempt to circumvent sanctions has become the latest victim.
According to Reuters, the Sibu 1, an oil tanker flying the Eritrean flag, was attacked and boarded by six Somali pirates Thursday off the coast of Yemen. The pirates seized control of the ship and had it diverted to Somalia.
The Sibu 1 had been on the U.S. watchlist since the war with Iran, with the U.S. Treasury sanctioning the ship for allegedly helping Iran transport oil and other petroleum products out of the country, bypassing the sanctions placed on Iran.
Reports from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), along with data from the International Maritime Bureau, show that the Sibu 1 became the 13th vessel attacked in the region, either off the Somali coast or in the Gulf of Aden, the waterway between Somalia and Yemen.
Piracy has long been a problem off the Somali and Yemeni coasts, with Reuters recounting hundreds of ships attacked dating back to 2008, creating billions in lost revenue and even more paid out in ransoms. In 2023, security forces in the region began fighting off the pirates, and the number of attacks dwindled. Now, with Somalia still struggling economically, piracy is starting up again.
MORE BY CHRIS FRANKLIN
Reuters spoke to experts who said the ongoing war and surging oil prices have made cargo ships carrying oil attractive targets for pirates, leading to the increase in attacks.
Experts also pointed to naval vessels being drawn to the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea because of the war as another reason, with naval forces more focused on Iran and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels than on pushing back the pirates.
Some experts speculate that the Houthis may be working with the Somali pirates as the ships come closer to Yemen.
Read the original article on silive.com. Add silive.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.