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Somali pirates reportedly seize Iranian fishing vessel with 23 aboard

ABC News reports pirates hijacked the Iranian fishing vessel Azini near Hafun, and the crew's safety is unknown.

Published Nov 1, 2026 · 16:23 UTC3 reports

The short version

  • ABC News reports the Iranian fishing vessel Azini was hijacked Thursday between Bandar Bayla and Hafun in northeastern Somalia.[ABC News]
  • The vessel carried 23 people, including 21 Iranian crew and two Somali security guards, and an anonymous officer said 12 pirates seized it.[ABC News]
  • The Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean warned the ship could become a floating base for attacks, and the crew's safety is unknown.[ABC News]
  • The EU's naval Operation Atalanta is investigating, and pirates hijacked six commercial vessels between April and August.[ABC News]

Key facts

  • The Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean said Somali pirates seized an Iranian fishing vessel carrying 23 people.[ABC News]
  • A maritime security officer with the Puntland Maritime Police Force said the vessel Azini was hijacked Thursday between Bandar Bayla and Hafun.[ABC News]
  • An anonymous maritime security officer said 12 pirates seized the vessel, which carried 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards.[ABC News]
  • The Maritime Security Center said in an alert dated Saturday that the crew's safety was unknown.[ABC News]
  • The European Union's naval Operation Atalanta was investigating the seizure.[ABC News]
  • By August, pirates had hijacked six commercial vessels since April, with some attacks far from Somalia's coastline.[ABC News]

What remains uncertain

  • The crew's safety is unknown, according to the Maritime Security Center alert.[ABC News]
  • The claim that the vessel could be used as a floating base for further attacks is a warning, not an observed attack.[ABC News]
  • The pirate count of 12 comes from an anonymous officer who was not authorized to speak to the media, so it is unverified by a named source.[ABC News]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.