Somali Pirates Hijack Togo-Flagged Oil Tanker in Gulf of Aden, Seek Ransom

Somali pirates seized the Togo-flagged oil tanker Eureka on May 2, 2026, in the Gulf of Aden and are demanding $10 million for its release. The vessel was transporting Emirati diesel when it was hijacked and subsequently taken to the coast of Somalia’s Puntland region. Puntland is home to ISIS-Somalia and pirate networks.

Pirates seized four vessels in waters near Somalia in just under two weeks spanning April and May 2026. At its peak in 2011, Somali piracy cost shippers and governments around $7 billion as a result of security and evasion costs, increased insurance, ransom payments, and counter-piracy operations.

The broader security deterioration on land and at sea across the Horn of Africa, Yemen, and Gulf of Aden/Red Sea is enabling a rise of piracy now.

This resurgence has been exacerbated by the Houthi and Iranian closures of major maritime chokepoints, which have demonstrated the effectiveness and utility of maritime aggression. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz elevated the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as an essential bypass, increasing the impact of piracy that threatens these critical waterways.

Even the threat of adding Red Sea disruption to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz panics markets.

Maritime security in the Middle East has been precarious since the Hamas assault on Israel on October 7, 2023. The international community struggled to stop Houthi attacks launched in solidarity with Hamas on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Even the seven-week air campaign by the United States against the Houthis in the spring of 2025 did not deter their attacks on commercial vessels once the air assault ceased.

Harassment of shipping has also proven profitable. In 2024, the UN reported that the Houthis may earn as much as $180 million per month in fees for safe transit. With Iran now reportedly charging $2 million to transit the Strait of Hormuz, Somali pirates may see a similar extortion opportunity.

Mohamed Musa Abulle, Puntland Maritime Police Force Deputy Director of Intelligence, revealed in January 2026 that the Houthis and their partners had provided Somali pirates with weapons and GPS devices that improved their ability to track vessels. The proximity of the Eureka hijacking to the coast of Yemen has raised concern over Houthi-Somali pirate collaboration amongst local officials and regional experts.

FDD reported that the October 2025 report by the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen documented growing ties between the Houthis and al-Shabaab.

Edmund Fitton-Brown, a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and Bridget Toomey, a Research Analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, authored the May 14, 2026, policy brief detailing these developments. American forces are focused on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, but security needs are still acute in the Gulf of Aden and western part of the Indian Ocean.

To fill some of these gaps, the United States can leverage the Combined Maritime Forces, injecting additional funding together with its partners.

The United States should also lead a reevaluation of tasking particularly in Combined Task Force-153 to ensure counter-weapons smuggling is appropriately prioritized and resourced. FDD reported that the UN Security Council should also reinstate previous resolutions which enabled CTF-151 counter-piracy activity in Somali territorial waters.