Somalia - Gulf of Aden

Reports of multiple hijackings off the coast of Somalia are raising fears that piracy may be reviving after a relative lull over the past decade. Increased traffic round the Horn of Africa amid the war in the Middle East, along with the diversion of naval forces, could be creating more opportunities for pirates to strike.

“Worrying” is the word used by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) to describe the increase to date this year of piracy in the Indian Ocean off Somalia. … On the western side of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea for many years the international piracy hotspot, reported “a reduced level of incidents” – six as against five for the same period last year – for the first quarter.

[…] The return of piracy cases off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Guinea in the past few weeks continue to be a serious threat to international maritime safety, in particular to seafarers and international trade as well as to the security and prosperity of the regional countries.

In 2011, pirates carried out 212 attacks in a vast area spanning Somali waters, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, actions that the World Bank said cost the world economy US$18 billion a year. … And then there was an astonishing turnaround. The number of attacks fell to 10 in 2012 and only two ships were hijacked between 2013 and 2023. … Academics and practitioners agree that four factors interacted to stop the pirates: … .

The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution to combat the continuing threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia, as shipping and protection measures to keep vessels safe, have returned to levels not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

[…] Multiple threats to maritime security remain, with piracy networks having shifted their focus on less risky activities, such as smuggling, which also requires the ongoing attention of the Federal Government of Somalia and the international community.

Today, Vice Admiral José M. Núñez Torrente was appointed Operation Commander of EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta, starting on 21 April 2021. He takes command from Admiral Eugenio Díaz del Río Jáudenes.

[…] Capitalising on the successes of suppressing piracy off the coast Somalia, the mandate of Operation ATALANTA was expanded to some secondary executive tasks of countering trafficking of weapons and narcotic drugs, and non-executive tasks of monitoring illegal activities at sea.