Commercial Vessel Attacked by Suspected Pirates off the ‎Somali Coast

Incident Details

UKMTO has released Warning 39-2025 regarding an incident 332 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, Somalia. The master of a vessel reported that 4 unauthorised persons attempted to board his vessel. The small craft came from a mothership approximately 5nm to the east of his vessel. UKMTO Update 001, the Master reports a small craft with a grey and white hull headed towards mothership 5nm to the east when warning shots were fired. All the crew are reported safe and the ship is transiting to the next port of call. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.

Fig1. Location of Incident – 332nm east of Mogadishu, Somali Basin. 

Comment. This incident has been confirmed. The vessel involved is reported to be the Cayman Island-flagged products tanker STOLT SAGALAND, which was transiting south at the time of the attack. This is the first piracy incident on a commercial ship in the Indian Ocean since May 2024 and follows earlier reports this week of possible Pirate Action Group activity off the Puntland coast. We have since received a further report that a Spanish Fishing vessel was also approached at high speed in a similar area by a skiff. The FV fired warning shots, and the skiff returned to a nearby mothership.

Assessment. It is highly likely that both these incidents are linked to the reports of an active PAG that left Garacad, Somalia, last week. The reports also seem to confirm the use of a mothership, likely one of the Iranian fishing Dhows reported to have been taken last week off the Somali coast. This PAG is a threat to commercial shipping transiting the region; however, it appears the embarked Armed Security Guards have acted as an effective deterrent in both incidents and prevented a boarding. Ships are advised to comply with the guidance in BMP-Maritime Security bmp-ms_hi-res_s.pdf and to consider using an Armed Security Team to best mitigate the threat from pirate activity. Contact Neptune P2P Group, if you require any further assistance.