Maritime authorities are warning of renewed pirate threats off Somalia after at least four vessels were seized in the past week, marking a sharp resurgence after years of relative calm. The latest incident involved the St Kitts and Nevis-flagged cargo ship Sward, owned by a Marshall Islands company, boarded by suspected pirates south of Eyl while en route from Suez to Mombasa.

The Palau-flagged oil tanker Honour 25 was intercepted on April 22 approximately 45 nautical miles off the Somali coast and has since been moved 77 nautical miles south into territorial waters. This follows a November attack on a Malta-flagged tanker that ended an 18-month lull. The World Bank estimates Somali piracy cost the global economy roughly $18bn annually between 2005 and 2012 at its peak.

The timing compounds challenges for an industry already strained by the US-Israeli conflict in the Gulf, which has forced many vessels to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope rather than transit the Suez Canal due to Houthi attacks in Yemen. UK Maritime Trade Operations has advised ships to transit with caution, while EU naval forces investigate whether the seizures represent classic piracy or local disputes.