Gunmen seize tanker off Yemen amid resurgence of Somali piracy (Aug 20, 2026)

A tanker has been boarded by six armed people who took control of the vessel off the coast of Yemen and diverted it towards Somalia, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre. The incident took place about 136 nautical miles (252km) east of Yemen's Al Mukalla, where the Seamull tanker, also known as SIBU 1, broadcast a distress call on VHF 16 while travelling westwards in the Gulf of Aden. UKMTO quote: "UKMTO have received confirmation that the tanker has been boarded by six armed persons who are now in control of the vessel" — the advisory said the tanker was being redirected to Somalia. The Seamull tanker was sanctioned by the United States last December as one of the vessels in the "shadow fleet", accused of exporting oil using "deceptive shipping practices" according to the US Treasury. It is one of four vessels operated by UAE-based Qatrat Alnada Almasi Ship Management that transported petroleum products, including naphtha and gasoil, on multiple occasions and made port calls to Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen. Five cargo ships are currently held hostage – including an oil tanker that was seized in July. Roughly 12 to 15 percent of global trade by value passes through the Suez canal each year, with approximately 30 percent of global container traffic, making it one of the world's most important trade routes. [NOTE: the sentence naming the fleet's sponsor state in AJ's copy contains a banned substring for the desk's own draft — trim the quote to end at "last December" if quoting it.]