A fuel tanker in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen was hijacked by Somali pirates.  The Tanzanian-flagged fuel and chemical tanker MT Asana has a crew of 20 on board and was seized on Friday.

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After departing the Yemeni port of Mukalla, seven armed pirates reportedly boarded the MT Asana and forced it into Somali territorial waters near Puntland, according to the Associated Press, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the incident.

While Tanzanian authorities have not confirmed any details yet, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has stated that military authorities tracked the vessel entering Somali territorial waters and “re-classified this incident as hijack.” It said the case remains under investigation.

Chief Tanzanian government spokesman Gerson Msigwa said officials were working to verify the vessel’s connection to the country. “We are following up, and once we have complete and accurate information, we will issue an official statement to the public,” Msigwa said, accoridng to a report by RT. 

This hijacking is the second time there has been a reported seizure of a vessel off Yemen since May. The first incident occurred when the tanker MT Eureka was captured near the port of Qana. It follows two other piracy incidents in the Indian Ocean in April.

Earlier this month, the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB) warned of a resurgence of Somali piracy despite a global decline in maritime attacks. According to the bureau, Somali pirates were responsible for 94% of all crew taken hostage worldwide in the first half of 2026. –RT

For a decade, from 2008 to 2018, Somali pirates disrupted critical world waterways, causing widespread chaos. Somalian piracy hit its peak in 2011. However, after a period of relative quiet, pirate activity has begun to rise again.

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