Somali Hijackings Raise Piracy Fears; 22 Indian Seafarers Aboard Two Ships

On August 21, the Shipping Ministry reported that pirates had hijacked two commercial vessels off the coast of Yemen and Somalia, with 22 Indian seafarers aboard. The MT Sibu 1, an Eritrea-flagged oil tanker, was seized in the Gulf of Aden with 20 crew members, including 16 Indians. The Cameroon-flagged cargo ship MV Luruf, carrying 10 crew members including six Indians and a consignment of Turkish weapons, was hijacked off Somalia’s Puntland coast on August 17. Officials in New Delhi have said the Indian crew members are safe.

According to FTL Somalia, a new outlet, Somali pirates have demanded a ransom of approximately $2 million to release the MV Luruf and its crew. The hijackings come against a backdrop of the West Asia war, attacks on shipping lines by Iran and the Houthis, and reported U.S. and Iranian blockades of the Strait of Hormuz. These developments have raised fears that piracy off Somalia may be staging a comeback.

To understand the current threat, one must look at the origins of Somali piracy. In 1991, the Somali government collapsed, and with it the navy and coastal security apparatus. The resource-rich waters off the Somali coast were left open to plunder by foreign vessels. A 2013 World Bank study, ‘The Pirate Trails Study’, noted that fishermen could no longer be protected from illegal foreign fishing and maritime dumping, which undermined the economic prospects of coastal communities.

A 2008 UN expert group report identified poverty, lack of employment, environmental hardship, low incomes, drought, illegal fishing, and a volatile security situation as key drivers of piracy. The World Bank study, based on interviews with pirates, revealed how the skiff and rifle offered an easy—and often the only—way out of poverty. One pirate recalled being approached by a cousin who promised money and khat, while another described how his friends, having turned to piracy, refused to lend him money because they were “working to get that money.”

At its peak, Somali piracy demanded ransoms running into millions. The World Bank estimated that between April 2005 and December 2012, $339 million to $413 million was claimed in ransom for pirate acts off the Horn of Africa. The report analysed how these ransoms were collected and distributed, and how the money was invested.

Piracy is not a series of isolated acts but an organised enterprise with a network of financiers and local logistics. The report identified “pirate financiers” or “money kingpins” as the biggest beneficiaries, collecting on average 30% to 50% of the total ransom, individually or as a group. The “low-level pirates” or “foot soldiers” receive a standard fee of $30,000 to $75,000 per ship, which amounts to just 1% to 2.5% of an average ransom. Local communities support pirates with goods and services, including food, repair services, and khat—an evergreen shrub containing cathinone, a stimulant banned by the World Health Organization since 1980 but still legal in Somalia.

The illicit proceeds of piracy are largely invested within Somalia, with some recycled into financing criminal activities. The current hijackings suggest that despite years of international naval patrols, the underlying conditions that gave rise to piracy remain unresolved. As shipping routes through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden face renewed instability, the safety of seafarers and the security of global trade once again hang in the balance.