Tanzanian Flagged Tanker Hijacked by Suspected Somali Pirates, Taken to Somalia Coast

A Tanzanian flagged tanker , MT ASANA , was hijacked by suspected Somali pirates off Yemen's coast after departing Mukalla on Friday and has since been moved to waters off Caluula in Puntland's Bari region of Somalia, according to security sources and local officials. The incident underscores the renewed threat of piracy along one of the world's busiest maritime trade corridors.

According to sources familiar with the case, seven armed Somali pirates seized the general tanker. Public vessel tracking data reviewed by the Associated Press showed the vessel moving at an unusually slow speed of around 2 knots in the Gulf of Aden while transmitting a distress signal and listing Bosaso, Somalia , as its destination. It remains unclear how many crew members were on board, their nationalities, or whether anyone was injured. Puntland authorities, the vessel's owner and manager, and international naval forces had not issued official statements as of Sunday.

Additional maritime security reports said the vessel was intercepted about 65 nautical miles south of Al Mukalla . The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) received the distress alert, while British security firm Ambrey assessed that the attack was consistent with Somali piracy rather than Houthi activity . The tanker reportedly had no armed security team on board, and a South Korean naval vessel responded after the distress call.

The hijacking comes amid a broader resurgence of Somali piracy in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean. Maritime experts attribute the increase to reduced international naval patrols and persistent regional instability, raising fresh concerns over the security of commercial shipping and energy supplies passing through the Red Sea and adjoining sea lanes.