Pirates hijack Yemeni fishing boat off Puntland, Somalia

Suspected pirates have hijacked a fishing boat from Yemen off the coast of Somalia. This incident happened in the Puntland region, a semi-autonomous area in northeast Somalia. The European Union's naval force, which monitors piracy in the region, reported that seven pirates boarded the ship on Monday. The fishing boat had eight Somali crew members on board at the time of the hijacking. The EU naval force stated that the incident is under investigation and has been classified as a hijacking. This is the second time a Yemeni-flagged fishing vessel has been taken by pirates in just two months. Last month, another similar boat was hijacked in the same waters, but that vessel was later abandoned by the pirates. Pirate activity had decreased in the region from 2008 to 2018, but there has been a recent rise in incidents since late 2023.