Somali pirates are staging a comeback

Even as HouthiMVUAE forces in Yemen continue to target ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, another threat is again emerging in the Indian Ocean. Somali pirates are back in action. On March 12th around 20 armed men hijacked the , a Bangladesh-flagged vessel carrying coal from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates (), while it was sailing more than 1,000km east of Somalia. Its crew of 23 is still being held hostage.The incident was the latest in a string of attacks that are unsettling mariners plying the seas around the Horn of Africa. Many recall the situation just over a decade ago, when the waters around Somalia were the most dangerous in the world. It also coincides with the crisis in the Red Sea, a short chug around the Horn of Africa, which is taking the attention of Western navies. “Somali pirates are trying to make hay while the sun shines,” says Cyrus Mody of the International Maritime Bureau, a non-profit group that monitors piracy.