Somali Pirates Abandon Hijacked Fahad-4 After 11-Man Crew Fails to Launch Further Attacks
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · May 7
Somali Pirates Abandon Hijacked Fahad-4 After 11-Man Crew Fails to Launch Further Attacks
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · May 7
May 4 saw Somali pirates abandon the UAE dhow Fahad-4 in the Arabian Sea after holding it since late April and trying to use it as a mothership for new raids.
11 pirates gave up the vessel as supplies ran low and ships crossing Somali waters stayed on heightened alert, blunting attempts to strike other targets, Puntland security officials told AFP.
No immediate information was available on the fate of the lemon-laden dhow’s crew, and Somali authorities had not publicly detailed the vessel’s status.
The failed operation still comes amid a broader piracy resurgence: JMIC has raised the threat level to “severe,” and pirates continue to hold vessels including Honour 25, Sward and Eureka.
Analysts say the revival has been enabled by naval patrols shifting since 2023 toward Houthi-related Red Sea threats and Hormuz tensions, reopening space for attacks in a corridor once costing the global economy up to $18 billion a year.
With navies distracted by Yemen, are tech-savvy pirates creating an unavoidable new crisis for global trade?
Is this a simple crime wave, or a symptom of a larger geopolitical failure in the Indian Ocean?