What happened

UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a tanker transiting westbound in the Gulf of Aden, about 136 nautical miles east of Al Mukalla, Yemen, broadcast a distress call on VHF channel 16 after being approached by an unauthorised vessel; six armed people subsequently boarded and took control of the ship, redirecting it toward Somalia. Monitoring outlets identified the vessel as the tanker Seamull, also referred to as SIBU 1. On 25 September, Puntland Maritime Police Force commander Mohamed Jama told Reuters that a two-day counter-piracy operation had freed the tanker and that the pirates were in police custody. The reviewed recovery report did not provide a separate crew-condition statement. Reuters described SIBU 1 as US-sanctioned for allegedly helping an Iranian shadow fleet transport petroleum products; that sanctions characterisation does not establish the vessel's flag state, which Reuters said remained unverified. This is a distinct incident from the 17 July 2026 UKMTO 090-26 hijack recorded separately on this map.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.