Piracy: more than 70 incidents reported since November 2023
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Africanews
More than 70 piracy incidents have been reported since November 2023, about half of them in 2026, according to Portuguese Commodore José Rodrigues Pedra, commander of the European Union naval force’s Atalanta mission. He believes the crises in the Red Sea and around the Strait of Hormuz could encourage new attacks in the Gulf of Aden, according to Africanews.
Portuguese Commodore José Rodrigues Pedra, commander of the European Union naval force’s Atalanta mission, believes conflicts in the Horn of Africa, Iran and Yemen could encourage new piracy crises between Asia and the West. More than 70 incidents have been reported since November 2023, about half of them in 2026, according to José Rodrigues Pedra.
The incidents saw two peaks, one after the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea in 2023 and the other at the start of the war in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Portuguese commander. He nevertheless said he saw no direct link between the current conflicts and the resurgence of piracy.
Commander Fernando María Zumalacarregui Alario, head of the Spanish frigate Santa María, believes pirates could seek targets in the Gulf of Aden, through which much of the merchant traffic between Asia and the West passes, or in the Somali Basin. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed because of the war in Iran.
