Family of Honour 25 Tanker Captain Pleads for Help After Day 4 of Somali Pirate Captivity

The family of the captain of the Palau-flagged fuel tanker Honour 25 — held by Somali pirates since April 25, 2026 — appealed publicly for international assistance on April 29, as the vessel entered its fourth day of captivity off the Puntland coast with no ransom demand officially issued and negotiations not yet begun. The Honour 25, carrying 18,500 barrels of fuel oil and a 17-member multinational crew (10 Pakistanis, 4 Indonesians, 1 Indian, 1 Sri Lankan, 1 Myanmar national), was seized approximately 30 nautical miles offshore between Hafun (Xaafuun) and Bandarbeyla by at least six gunmen from what officials describe as a 'new pirate group' formed from rural youth in Puntland. Al-Monitor's reporting (April 28) identifies the group as distinct from established pirate networks, motivated by poverty and displacement from illegal fishing depredation of Somali coastal fish stocks. Separately, DefenceWeb reported a second vessel was hijacked off the Somali coast, raising fears that the piracy resurgence is entering a new, more dangerous phase. EU NAVFOR Atalanta, Combined Task Force 151, and the Spanish Joint Operations Command are monitoring the situation. The Honour 25 captivity intersects with the broader crisis: its fuel cargo was destined for Mogadishu, and gas prices in the Somali capital have already tripled since early 2026. Ransom negotiations for Somali piracy cases typically take weeks to months.