The Gulf of Aden and other waters around the Horn of Africa are seeing an increase in maritime attacks. Since late April, Somali pirates have been attacking and seizing vessels at a rate not seen since 2011, when piracy in the region was at its peak. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre, which offers a monitoring and alert service for commercial shipping, issued four warnings in the Somali Basin in April and eight in the Gulf of Aden in May and June. Both areas are in Somali pirate areas of activity.
Many of these attacks have occurred off the Yemeni coast controlled by the country’s anti-Houthi government and have used tactics consistent with piracy, such as skiffs approaching and firing on commercial vessels. In contrast, Houthi attacks largely occur in the Red Sea, and the Iran-backed terror group otherwise uses longer-range systems, such as drones and missiles, to target ships in the Gulf of Aden.
The UKMTO’s latest Joint Maritime Information Center advisory note reported that Somali pirates are holding three vessels taken on April 21, 26, and May 2. Thus far in June, UKMTO has documented four attacks in the region.
On June 17, UKMTO reported, “A vessel has been approached to within 4 meters and fired upon by 2 skiffs with an unknown number of armed persons on board. The vessel has deployed [its] security team and returned fire.” UKMTO said the attack occurred roughly 105 nautical miles (nm) northeast of Aden, which is near the coast of Yemen.
On June 15, UKMTO issued a warning that “a tanker has reported being approached by a small skiff with 4 crew. The crew of the skiff were armed and opened fire on the vessel with an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade].” This attack occurred in the Gulf of Aden, roughly midway between the Horn of Africa and Yemen. In another incident on June 15, UKMTO reported, “A container vessel has reported being approached by a small skiff. The crew of the small skiff opened fire on the vessel and attempted to board.” This attack was only 14 nm off the coast of Yemen.
On June 10, an attack occurred roughly midway between Yemen and the Horn. “A cargo vessel has reported being approached by one craft with 6 armed persons onboard. There was an exchange of fire between the small craft and the cargo vessels [sic] Armed Security Team resulting in the small craft turning away,” according to UKMTO. Commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden areas often have security personnel on board who engage attackers.
Africa Defense Forum, the magazine of US Africa Command, reported on allegations from January 2026 by Mohamed Musa Abulle, the deputy director of intelligence for the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) from Somalia’s semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland, that Somali pirates had received weapons and GPS devices from the Houthis. The UN has similarly reported increases in Houthi ties with terrorists and bad actors in the Horn of Africa, particularly Al Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia.
Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focusing on Iranian proxies, specifically Iraqi militias and the Houthis.
Tags: africa, Gulf of Aden, Piracy, Somalia, Yemen
