Pirates killed five crew on hijacked tanker before Puntland rescue, region says

Somali pirates killed five crew members aboard a hijacked oil tanker before Puntland forces freed the vessel and captured 16 suspected pirates, Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region said on Tuesday 29 September 2026. The deaths appear to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in more than a decade, according to Al Jazeera and MarineLink.

The ship is the MT Honour 25, a Palau-flagged tanker carrying 18,500 barrels of oil, according to Al Jazeera. It was seized on 21 April. Puntland's Information Ministry said: "Before the operation began, the pirates on board the ship killed five of the crew."

Who died

The dead were three Pakistani nationals, one national of Myanmar and one Indian, according to Al Jazeera. Four other crew members were wounded: three Pakistanis and one Indian.

MarineLink and the Somali Guardian say 17 crew were on board; the Somali Guardian adds that 10 of them were Pakistani. The Somali Guardian also says, citing media reports, that the ship was taken about 30 nautical miles off Puntland's coast.

The rescue

The operation was carried out by the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF). Xinhua, citing the force, reports the ship was freed off Bandarbeyla in north-eastern Somalia and is "now safe and under Puntland government control". Xinhua says the ship was freed after an "intelligence-led intervention disrupted the hijackers' defense plans".

Xinhua says the tanker was carrying 18,500 barrels of fuel bound for Mogadishu when it was seized. The Somali Guardian reports that efforts were continuing to locate others involved in the hijacking, and that Puntland state television said the suspects would be brought before a court.

A wider resurgence

Al Jazeera reports that, according to officials, at least 15 attacks have been reported off Somalia since April. It also notes that the maritime police freed another tanker, the Sibu 1, the week before; Somali pirates had hijacked it in August. Of the 41 pirates arrested in that operation, 28 later escaped while being transferred to jail.

MarineLink says experts link the resurgence partly to the effects of the Iran war, including higher oil prices that make tankers more attractive targets. This is the experts' assessment, not an established finding.

What to watch

The key questions are whether the 16 suspects are prosecuted and held securely, given the Sibu 1 escapes, and whether the pace of attacks continues. None of the sources we read mentions Kenya, Mombasa or Chinese-linked vessels in this case, so any effect on East African shipping or on Chinese crews is not established here.