Puntland Maritime Police Rescue Sanctioned Tanker Sibu 1, Capture Dozens of Pirates

The Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) and Puntland Navy freed the US-sanctioned tanker Sibu 1 (formerly Seamull) off the coast of Mudug region on September 25, 2026, concluding a 48-hour pursuit and assault operation. One pirate was killed and four to five were wounded in the raid; reporting on the number of suspects taken into custody ranges from 15 (Dawan Africa's initial count of those captured in the final assault) to 41-42 (broader totals cited by Arab News and US News, likely including earlier-detained accomplices ashore); one Puntland police officer was injured. All 20 crew members — reported by Dawan Africa as 16 Indian, 2 Syrian, 1 Iraqi and 1 Sudanese nationals — were confirmed safe along with the vessel's cargo. Sibu 1 had been seized by six armed pirates approximately 136 nautical miles east of Al Mukalla, Yemen, on August 20, 2026, and steered toward Somalia's Puntland coast; the US Treasury sanctioned the vessel in December 2025 for allegedly carrying Iranian 'shadow fleet' petroleum products in violation of sanctions. It is the first Puntland-led armed recovery of a hijacked vessel in the 2026 piracy resurgence — a different resolution path than the ransom-based release of the cargo vessel Sword around September 11. Three other hijacked tankers — Honour 25, MT Eureka, and the previously unreported MT Asana (a Tanzanian-flagged tanker seized off Yemen around July 17 with roughly 20 crew, including German and Filipino nationals, and taken to Puntland's Bari region) — remain in pirate hands, reportedly relocated south toward Hobyo, Galmudug.