Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday it is coordinating simultaneously with authorities in Somalia and Yemen to secure the release of Egyptian sailors held aboard the hijacked oil products tanker MT Eureka. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has ordered daily monitoring of the incident and directed Egypt’s embassy in Mogadishu to maintain continuous, high-level contact with all relevant Somali authorities.
The vessel was seized in the early morning hours of May 2, 2026 near the Yemeni port of Qana in the Gulf of Aden, then redirected toward the Somali coast. It carries a crew of 22, including 8 Egyptian sailors, who have been held at sea since the seizure as ransom talks have stalled, collapsed and restarted.
The Hijacking at Sea
A pirate crew of seven men boarded the MT Eureka at 5:00 a.m. on May 2 and steered the vessel toward the Somali coast, eventually anchoring it 3.7 nautical miles off the fishing town of Bander Beyla in Puntland, according to Puntland security officials. The 88-meter tanker had loaded roughly 20,400 barrels of diesel at Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and was heading east through waters the Dubai-based UKMTO had flagged for heightened pirate activity.
Once anchored, additional armed men boarded the vessel. Puntland security officials now estimate that about 30 pirates are holding the tanker and its crew. Search operations and security measures continue in the area, Egypt’s Maritime Officers Union said in a statement this week. The track of the vessel suggests it was being directed toward Qandala in northeastern Puntland, according to the Maritime Executive’s reconstruction of the route from the hijacking sequence off Yemen’s Shabwa coast.
By the numbers:
- Hijack date: May 2, 2026, off Yemen’s Shabwa governorate.
- Total crew: 22, including 8 Egyptians.
- Cargo: roughly 20,400 barrels of diesel loaded at Fujairah.
- Anchor point: 3.7 nautical miles off Bander Beyla, Puntland.
- Estimated captors on board: about 30.
Cairo’s Two Embassies on Parallel Tracks
Egypt’s response is being run along two embassy lines that operate in parallel. The country’s embassy in Mogadishu maintains continuous contact with Somali federal authorities and high-level regional officials, the Egyptian foreign ministry’s Monday statement on the hijacking said, with the goal of expediting the crew’s release and ensuring decent living conditions aboard the vessel. Embassy officials have also set up a secure communication line that lets the sailors talk directly with their families.
Separately, the Egyptian embassy in Riyadh, which holds diplomatic accreditation to the Yemeni government, has been instructed to communicate with Yemeni authorities and the ship’s commercial owner. Cairo has also been pressing the Somali ambassador in Egypt, Ali Abdi Aware, to relay requests to Puntland security officials, a Somali embassy official in Cairo told Drop Site News. The ambassador had been tracking AIS signals the pirates were turning on and off to dodge detection at sea.
At headquarters in Cairo, the ministry’s Consular Affairs Department is holding regular meetings with the sailors’ families to brief them on state efforts. The Mogadishu coordination follows an earlier Cairo meeting between Abdelatty and Somalia’s foreign minister on the same case, part of a stepped-up push that began before the latest hijacking news cycle.
From $3 Million to $10 Million, and Back to Square One
The hijackers initially demanded $3 million, briefly lowered the figure to $7 million, then raised it to $10 million as frustration mounted over the pace of talks, clan elders from the same community as the pirates told Drop Site News. Conditions aboard the vessel have deteriorated alongside the price. The wife of engineer Mohamed Radi said her husband reported during a phone call that pirates had increased armed guards on board while sharply restricting food and water.
Negotiations between the captors and the vessel’s commercial partner have already collapsed once over the dispute. The head of Egypt’s Maritime Officers Union warned that the case had effectively returned to its starting point.
Negotiations with the hijackers had collapsed after the pirates reportedly demanded a higher ransom, taking the issue back to ‘square one’.
Capt El-Sayed El-Shazly El-Naggar, head of Egypt’s Maritime Officers Syndicate and the country’s liaison officer with the International Transport Workers’ Federation, told The National.
A Piracy Rebound After Years of Quiet Seas
Somali piracy reached its modern peak in 2011, when 237 attacks were recorded and the global economic cost reached about $7 billion, including $160 million paid in ransoms, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group, as cited by The National. International naval patrols and a stronger Somali central government reduced incidents for nearly a decade.
The pattern has shifted again. Attacks resumed at a faster pace in 2025, in part because of the insecurity of shipping in the Red Sea caused by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, The National reported. Naval assets that once focused on anti-piracy work have been drawn toward countering Houthi attacks on commercial vessels since late 2023, leaving armed groups on the Somali coast more room to operate.
The MT Eureka was the second major hijacking within a ten-day stretch. The Palau-flagged product tanker HONOUR 25 was seized on April 22, also in Puntland waters. Puntland security forces moved troops toward HONOUR 25’s anchoring point after imposing a land blockade to cut off supplies and reinforcements, a posture Egyptian negotiators are watching closely as they weigh options for the MT Eureka.
What Could Break the Stalemate
An agreement on a procedure for ransom delivery has been reached between the vessel’s Yemeni commercial partner and the armed group holding the tanker, according to the Maritime Officers Union, as reported by Ahram Online. The success of that route now depends on the swift execution of the agreed steps by the parties involved.
Three levers have surfaced in the latest reporting on the case:
- Ransom delivery: if the agreed procedures move forward quickly, the vessel and its 22 crew members could depart Puntland waters without further escalation.
- Regional security pressure: Puntland security forces continue a land blockade near Bander Beyla and have moved troops toward the anchoring point of the HONOUR 25 to prevent further reinforcement of hijacked crews.
- Owner accountability: Egypt’s Maritime Officers Union has publicly pressed Royal Shipping Lines Inc, the UAE-based operator, to meet its obligations to the crew.
For 8 Egyptian sailors, the route home runs through whichever combination of those levers moves first. The captive crew remains inside the hull of a Togo-flagged tanker whose signal blinks on and off along the Puntland coast.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the MT Eureka hijacked?
The MT Eureka was hijacked at 5:00 a.m. on May 2, 2026, near the port of Qana in Yemen’s Shabwa governorate in the Gulf of Aden, and was then steered toward the Somali coast.
How many Egyptian sailors are on board?
Eight of the 22 crew members are Egyptian. The remainder include Indian sailors, according to statements from Egypt’s foreign ministry and Puntland security officials.
What is the current ransom demand?
The hijackers are demanding $10 million, after initially asking for $3 million and briefly lowering their price to $7 million, according to clan elders cited by Drop Site News.
Who owns the vessel?
MT Eureka is owned by Royal Shipping Lines Inc, a shipping company based in the United Arab Emirates. The company has not publicly issued a statement on the hijacking, according to Drop Site News.
Why has Somali piracy returned in 2026?
Analysts link the resurgence in part to the diversion of international naval assets toward countering Yemen’s Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping since late 2023, which has reduced anti-piracy patrols off the Somali coast.
