Pirates Hijack Bulker Off Yemen in the 25th Recorded Incident of 2026
Reports are coming in of a new vessel hijacking that happened earlier today, September 10, south of Yemen. The monitoring authorities issued alerts about a bulker that was approached and appeared to have been boarded while assets assigned to the EU operation Atalanta were investigating the situation.
UK Maritime Trade Operations received a report of the vessel being approached while it was approximately 98 nautical miles southwest of Al Mukalia, Yemen. The Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO) later reported the vessel had been hijacked by a pirate action group approximately 38 nautical miles southwest of Balhaf, Yemen.
The vessel is being identified as the Glamor, a Greek-owned bulker built in 1998. The 24,000 dwt vessel, which is 154 meters (505 feet) in length, is registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It appears to be operating in and out of Djibouti, but little information is known about the ship and its crew.
It is the first reported pirate incident since August 20, but it has been an active year that saw a dramatic increase in the number of reports. The instability in the region and possible support from the Houthis for the pirates are being cited as factors contributing to the rise in incidents. Today’s activity came as the Houthis were pursuing a new offensive and reported taking the port city of Mocha in Yemen. It would increase the militants’ ability to threaten shipping or control the passage into the Red Sea.
MSCIO and Atalanta reported this week that they are still monitoring five vessels that are being held in Somalia’s coastal waters. The tanker Honour 25 was hijacked on April 21, followed by the cargo ship Sward on April 26. The tanker Eureka was hijacked off Yemen on May 2. More recently, the tanker Asana was hijacked off Yemen on July 17, and on August 20 the tanker Sibu I was also reportedly hijacked by a pirate action group east of Yemen while bound for Port Sudan.
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The organizations’ only remark about the cargo ship Lutuf was that it had been released on August 17 while approximately 4.5 NM south of Maraya (Eyl District), Somalia. Turkish authorities and the government of Somalia reported that commandos stormed the ship, which was carrying Turkish military equipment, and killed the hijackers. The authorities in the Puntland region of Somalia dismissed the reports and claimed a ransom had been paid.
MSICO lists today’s incident as the 25th reported in 2026. In addition to the hijacked vessels and kidnapped crews, it tracks incidents of armed robbery and approaches toward commercial vessels. It also reports several dhows that were seized, possibly to act as mother ships for the pirate groups. It continues to warn commercial ships to maintain heightened vigilance in the area within 150 NM off the Somali coast between Mogadishu and Hafun.
