Sanctioned Tanker Sibu 1 Hijacked in Gulf of Aden, Diverted Toward Somalia

Six armed men seized the sanctioned tanker Sibu 1 in the Gulf of Aden on August 20, 136 nautical miles east of Yemen's Al Mukalla, forcing the vessel toward Somalia as the crew broadcast a distress call over AIS.

The 32,200-dwt product tanker (IMO 9204776, previously named Seamull) sails under an Eritrean flag and was sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control in December 2025. The Treasury included it in an action against 29 shadow fleet vessels tied to UAE-based Qatrat Alnada Almasi Ship Management, which US authorities said had transported Iranian petroleum products, including naphtha and gasoil, and made port calls to Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen.

The vessel was travelling west from Shinas, Oman, toward Port Sudan when the attackers boarded. Before losing control of the ship, the crew changed the AIS destination to read "PIRATE ONBOARD HELP". UK Maritime Trade Operations confirmed the seizure; the attackers were reported to be heading toward Bosaso, Somalia.

The attack is part of a sharp rise in piracy off Somalia in 2026. The Sibu 1 is at least the 13th vessel attacked in the Gulf of Aden or off Somalia this year, according to International Maritime Bureau and UKMTO data, against five attacks in all of 2025. It is the sixth commercial vessel hijacked since April, following the cargo ship Lutuf, seized three days earlier on August 17.

MarineRadar tracked 156 devices monitoring the Gulf of Oman near Shinas in the 48 hours before the attack. The count points to sustained user attention on the waterway the vessel had recently passed through.