From Newsgroup: alt.politics.usa
https://www.dw.com/en/somali-piracy-global-shippings-next-crisis-unfolds-in-the-indian-ocean/a-77047750
It's been a nightmare two months for global shipping, with the
Strait of Hormuz largely shut to commercial traffic and the
threat of fresh attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
Now, a third crisis is brewing rCo a resurgence in Somali piracy.
Even before the latest escalations between the United States,
Israel and Iran, around half the vessels bound for Europe from
Asia and the Gulf were bypassing the Red Sea and Suez Canal
due to earlier strikes by the Iran-backed Houthis.
Faced with the threat of attacks around the Bab el-Mandeb
Strait, the narrow chokepoint between the Red Sea and the
Gulf of Aden, major shipping firms opted instead for the
long detour around southern Africa.
This diversion adds two to three weeks and thousands of nautical
miles to the journey, taking ships right past Somalia's
coastline rCo the same waters where Somali pirates staged a
multiyear campaign of hijackings that peaked in 2011.
That stretch of sea is now seeing piracy return with a vengeance,
with three ships hijacked off Somalia and nearby Yemen in the
past three weeks alone. As of May 8, 2026, the Honour 25 and
Eureka oil tankers and the cargo ship Sward all remain under
pirate control.
Experts believe that organized crime groups in Somalia are
taking advantage of the Iran war to launch hijackings
. . .
At it again !
Does Omar have an eye-patch and a parrot in
her wardrobe ? :-)
Last time, shippers had to start hiring private
security and/or coordinating with regional
naval forces.
Armed merchant ships USED to be a thing ... maybe
it will need to be a thing again.
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