Pirates Hijack Sanctioned Tanker Sibu 1 (Seamull) in Gulf of Aden, Steer Toward Somalia

Six armed pirates in two skiffs boarded and seized the 32,200-dwt product tanker Sibu 1 — also tracked under its former name Seamull, and sanctioned by the US Treasury in December 2025 for carrying Iranian 'shadow fleet' petroleum products — approximately 136 nautical miles east of Al Mukalla, Yemen, in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, August 20, 2026. The vessel's AIS reportedly broadcast 'PIRATE ONBOARD HELP' before changing course toward Somalia's Puntland coast, joining Honour 25, Sward, Eureka, Asana, and Lutuf as the sixth commercial vessel seized by resurgent Somali pirates since April 2026. UKMTO and EU NAVFOR Atalanta are tracking the vessel; its claimed Eritrean registry is reportedly false. The Indian High Commission in Nairobi confirmed all 16 Indian nationals among the vessel's 20-member crew were safe, alongside crew of other nationalities. Analysts attributed the piracy surge to naval patrol forces stretched thin by the wider Red Sea/Iran conflict.