Why is piracy picking up off Somalia’s coast again?

The Federal Government of Somalia announced on August 29 that the Turkish navy, working with Somali forces, had freed the cargo ship MV Lutuf after a 10-day pursuit, killing 14 pirates and destroying four of their boats.

The vessel had been seized on August 17 off Jifle, on the coast of Puntland, Somalia’s semi-autonomous northeastern region. Mogadishu’s Defence Ministry credited its release to a 2024 defence pact between Somalia and Turkiye.

Puntland has disputed that account. Its Ministry of Security said no military rescue had taken place and accused federal officials of securing the vessel’s release through a ransom payment to the pirates.

The conflicting accounts have not been independently verified. But the seizure and the military response around it mark the most dramatic episode yet in a series of pirate attacks off Somalia this year, raising fresh questions about how far a resurgence that began in the spring could go.

Piracy incidents in Somali waters and the Gulf of Aden have risen sharply since the spring, after several years in which the crime had all but disappeared from the region.

An AFP analysis of International Maritime Organization data found at least 15 attacks since the start of the year, including eight in the Gulf of Aden since May.

One tanker seized off Yemen in May was later directed towards Somalia by pirates demanding $10m. Another vessel, the MV Honour 25, has been held for more than two months.

In May, a separate pirate group abandoned a hijacked Emirati dhow after running short of supplies while using it as a mother ship to attack other ships, Puntland security officials told AFP.