A tanker has been hijacked off the coast of Yemen, boarded by six armed people who took control of the vessel and diverted it towards Somalia. The seizure was reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, the body that monitors shipping incidents in the region, and quickly drew attention as a fresh sign of trouble in a sensitive stretch of water.
According to the details that emerged, the incident occurred about 136 nautical miles east of Yemen's port city of Mukalla, in the Gulf of Aden. The tanker was travelling west through the corridor when it reported being approached by an unauthorised vessel, shortly before the armed group came aboard.
Once in control, the six armed people steered the vessel away from its route and towards the Somali coast. The pattern of an armed boarding followed by the redirection of a ship is one long associated with piracy in these waters, raising immediate concern about the intentions of those who seized the tanker.
Key questions remained unanswered in the initial reports. UKMTO provided no further details and did not say whether the tanker or its crew were safe, leaving the fate of those on board unclear as the situation continued to develop and authorities worked to establish what was happening.
The alert came through UKMTO, which tracks and flags maritime security incidents so that other vessels moving through the area can be warned. Such notices are a routine but important tool in one of the world's busiest and most strategically sensitive shipping corridors, where merchant ships pass in large numbers.
The hijacking underscores a resurgence of piracy and armed boarding attempts in the Gulf of Aden. The region has seen a marked uptick in such activity, with 24 incidents recorded over the past three months alone, pointing to a growing risk for ships and their crews.
The wider trend reinforces the concern. Across the first half of the year, from January to June 2026, the area registered 38 such incidents, a tally that highlights how the waters off Yemen and around the Gulf of Aden have become an increasingly hazardous passage for commercial shipping.