Acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia are surging. Since the beginning of 2026, at least 13 vessels have been attacked. The backdrop is the protracted war between Iran and the United States over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Although the current level has not yet reached the early 2010s, when there were around 200 attacks a year, piracy is now more organized than before, raising concerns that the situation will deteriorate.

On 29 August 2026, the Federal Government of Somalia announced that Somali forces and the Turkish navy had freed the cargo ship MV Lutf and killed 14 pirates in a drone strike, destroying four boats. The MV Lutf had been attacked off the coast of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia, on 17 August. Somalia and Turkey signed a defense agreement in 2024, and the cargo ship was reportedly carrying Turkish military weapons. Puntland authorities, however, claim that there was no military rescue operation and that a large ransom was paid.

As Iran and the United States continue their war, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, is drawing attention as an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz. However, Ansar Allah (also known as the Houthi movement), which controls Yemen’s capital, is blocking the passage of ships linked to Saudi Arabia, heightening tensions in the surrounding waters as well. As a result, navies from various countries have been dispatched to this region, leaving the waters off Somalia relatively unguarded. In addition, to avoid being drawn into the conflict, commercial and other vessels have shifted their routes closer to the Somali coast, which has contributed to the rise in piracy. With soaring crude oil prices, tankers have also become easier targets, as pirates anticipate higher ransom payments.

The history of piracy off the Somali coast goes back to the early 1990s, when the Somali government collapsed. Local fishers formed militia groups to protect coastal waters from illegal fishing and waste dumping, but these activities gradually escalated, eventually developing into the hijacking of ships. Between 2005 and 2012 there were more than 1,000 attacks on foreign vessels, and pirates demanded over US$400 million in ransom payments.

However, as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU) and others stepped up naval patrols, and shipping companies strengthened the protection of their vessels, hijackings by pirates fell to just two cases between 2013 and 2023.

The renewed surge in piracy is more organized than before, and the methods used have become more sophisticated. According to Al Jazeera, Yemeni and Somali businessmen are now financing pirate groups. Pirates use GPS and satellite technology and are armed with more advanced weapons. They are also said to be cooperating with Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group, among others.

At the same time, some observers point out that the underlying conditions that give rise to piracy remain unchanged. Illegal operations by foreign vessels are “forcibly” robbing local fishers of marine resources, and aid from the United States has been drastically reduced. Somalia’s inflation rate in March 2026 reached 9.2 percent, the highest level in recent years. Economic hardship, they argue, is pushing people toward piracy.

The Donald Trump administration expanded attacks on Somalia in 2025, targeting Al-Shabaab and other groups. On 7 August 2026, it bombed a village in the south. It was the 78th airstrike that year, putting it on pace to exceed the 124 carried out in 2025. The United States has not disclosed the number of casualties or the extent of damage to civilian infrastructure. Domestic conditions remain far from stable.

To learn more about the situation in Somalia and its background → “Somalia: Striving for Stability”

Somali coastline (Photo: Global Partnership for Education / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0])