“They seize every opportunity”: Piracy resurges in the Gulf of Aden amid war in Iran

Piracy is returning to the Gulf of Aden, with at least 15 attacks recorded since the start of the year and 90 sailors held hostage in the region. The International Maritime Organization has raised the alarm as heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, 2,000 kilometers to the east, create opportunities for pirates.

Fourteen of the attacks recorded this year took place after the war in Iran began, according to an AFP count based on reports from the IMO’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System. Since 2013, the region had recorded no more than a few pirate attacks each year. There were five in 2025.

The Gulf of Aden is a strategic maritime corridor between Somalia and Yemen, linking the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean. It is also one of the world’s most heavily used shipping routes, leaving vessels exposed as security tensions spread across the wider region.

“The pirates’ methods have not necessarily changed, but they are capable of operating farther offshore from the Somali coast,” Damien Chevallier, director of the IMO’s maritime safety division, told Le Figaro. His warning captures the concern that the threat is expanding beyond the areas where it was previously concentrated.

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The pirates’ methods have not necessarily changed, but they are capable of operating farther offshore from the Somali coast.