Maritime reports say Armed assailants attacked a commercial tanker off the coast of Mogadishu on Monday, firing at the vessel after attempting to board the ship in the first suspected Somali piracy incident of its kind since 2024.

If confirmed, this would be the first Somali piracy attack against a merchant ship since May 2024, raising risks for critical energy and goods transported through the region, maritime sources said.

The vessel was sailing some 332 nautical miles (615 km) off the Somali coast when four armed attackers approached in a skiff from the starboard side and opened fire, British maritime risk management group Vanguard said in a note.

Vanguard and a maritime security source said the vessel targeted was the Cayman Islands-flagged chemical tanker Stolt Sagaland.
The vessel’s operator Stolt-Nielsen, confirmed there was an attempted attack on the Stolt Sagaland early on November 3, which was unsuccessful.

The European Union’s naval mission said it was investigating the incident. The naval force said on October 28 it had received an alert about the possible presence of a pirate action group around the Somali coast.

While the Houthis have agreed to a truce on targeting U.S.-linked shipping, many shipping companies remain wary of resuming voyages through those waters.