Day 18: Three Vessels, 44 Hostages — Honour 25 Day 18; Sward Day 17; MT Eureka Day 11; No Ransom Deals Confirmed; World Bank Flags Piracy as Economic Risk

Somalia's simultaneous multi-vessel piracy crisis continued unresolved on May 13, 2026, with all three hijacked vessels remaining under pirate control and no confirmed ransom agreements for any of them. The Palau-flagged fuel tanker Honour 25 (17-member multinational crew: 10 Pakistanis, 4 Indonesians, 1 Indian, 1 Sri Lankan, 1 Myanmar national) entered Day 18 of captivity since the April 25 seizure off Puntland's coast, with the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust (Pakistan) reporting negotiations deadlocked over a reported $7 million pirate demand. The general cargo vessel Sward (15 crew: 13 Syrian nationals, 2 Indian nationals) was on Day 17 since its April 27 seizure near Garacad. The Togo-flagged product tanker MT Eureka (12 crew, Egyptian and Indian nationals, approximately 2,800 tons of diesel) was on Day 11 since its May 2 seizure, with the vessel having moved into Somali waters. Total simultaneous hostages across all three vessels: 44 — the most since Somalia's 2012 piracy peak era. EU NAVFOR Atalanta and Combined Task Force 151 maintained regional surveillance but no rescue operation was launched. Separately, the World Bank's Somalia Economic Update released on May 13, 2026 identified the Iran war-linked shipping disruption and piracy resurgence as compounding economic risks for Somalia, noting that transport costs had risen over 50% and were driving inflation and humanitarian access costs higher across the country.