DANGEROUS SEAS: Somali Pirates Are Back in Force, Staging Two Attacks to Marchant Ships in Three Days
The scourge of the Indian Ocean is back.
A couple of decades ago, the Somali pirates lived their ‘golden age’, unleashing thousands of attacks upon merchant ships on trade routes off the coast of Somalia.
At their peak, in 2011, no fewer than 237 attacks were reported, costing companies approximately $7 billion, with an estimated $160 million paid out in ransoms.
And now, they’re back.
Pirates attempted to get on a stolen tanker off Somalia, causing an alert in the Gulf of Aden. The assault stopped, the crew safe. It’s time to increase alertness and BMP5 standards because this isn’t business as usual.#maritime #piracy #shipping pic.twitter.com/MssGJyU7B5
— The Maritime (@themaritimenet) November 3, 2025
Last Monday (3), pirates made an unsuccessful attempt to board a Stolt-Nielsen tanker in the Gulf of Aden. The assault was stopped and the crew safely rescued – but everyone knew that was not an isolated incident, as growing evidence of the resurgence of the piracy threat is building.
And, ahoy! – a mere three days later, pirates fired machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades before boarding and taking control of the Malta-flagged fuel tanker Hellas Aphrodite.
Somalia Piracy Seizes Greek Vessel
Five Greeks are among the 24 crew members of the Greek-owned tanker Hellas Aphrodite, which was seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia today .
According to Latsco Marine Management, the owning company, all 24 crew members of the… pic.twitter.com/wyLbYZGIHe
— Mariam Robly | مريم روبلى (@MariamRobly) November 6, 2025
On Friday (7) a European Union naval force reached the Hellas Aphrodite, finding all its 24 mariners safe.
Associated Press reported:
“The seizure of the Hellas Aphrodite, carrying a load of gasoline from India to South Africa, ended as the ESPS Victoria came alongside the vessel.
Special forces from the Spanish frigate boarded the tanker and released the 24 crew members who had locked themselves inside the ship’s citadel when the attack began Thursday, said the EU’s Operation Atalanta, an anti-piracy coalition.”
“Operation Atalanta said ‘an early show of force’ by the Victoria encouraged the pirates to flee the vessel, without elaborating. The operation included a helicopter, a drone and another aircraft alongside the frigate.
‘The threat assessment in the area surrounding the incident remains critical’, Operation Atalanta warned. ‘The mother ship and the pirates remain in the area. A coordinated joint operation is ongoing to intercept the dhow used in this attack’.”
European Union vessel reaches ship raided by pirates off #Somalia; all 24 crew on board safe
A #European_Union naval force on Friday reached a Malta-flagged tanker earlier attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia, finding all its 24 mariners safe after an assault that raised… pic.twitter.com/JlKBrWfmUq
— Addis Standard (@addisstandard) November 8, 2025
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