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Pirates Trade Gunfire with Security Team on Cargo Ship off Somalia

cargo ship
Cargo ship outbound from Somalia is reporting it exchanged gunfire with a small boat which was approaching (file photo)

Published Apr 23, 2026 1:29 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

A cargo ship departing Somalia is reporting that it was shot at by an approaching small boat and returned fire. It is the second report of a possible new piracy event in the region this week, with EUNAVFOR Atalanta confirming that the reports are under investigation.

A small boat, which is being described as a white fishing boat, came within approximately 600 meters (less than 2,000 feet) of the cargo ship. It appeared to be working with a second boat, and as it approached the ship, the security team on the cargo ship fired a series of warning shots. They report that one of the small boats returned fire before the two boats moved away.

Security consultants Vanguard Tech are identifying the cargo ship as a Turkish-owned cargo ship named Elfriede (10,000 dwt). It is registered in Barbados, and according to its AIS signal, was outbound from Mogadishu bound for Karachi, Pakistan. The crew was not injured, and the ship is reported to be proceeding.

The MSCIO report on this incident is warning ships to increase vigilance, especially within 150 nautical miles of the Somali coast. It says the greatest danger is between Mogadishu and Hafun to the north in Somalia.

Earlier in the week, Atalanta confirmed that it was investigating another report of a possible boarding of a product tanker near Hafun. Armed pirates were reported to have possibly boarded the unidentified vessel after having hijacked a dhow. 

Atalanta warned that the pirates appear to be favoring the use of mother ships and skiffs from those ships as a means of blending in with local traffic. The warnings also emphasize that this tactic increased the range of operations to as much as 600 nautical miles from the coast.

Currently, between monsoon seasons, it is a peak window of opportunity for Somalis to launch piracy attacks against commercial shipping. The southwest monsoon season typically starts by May and runs until October. Since the start of the year, Atalanta has recorded five incidents of piracy and robbery of smaller vessels near Somalia in the Indian Ocean, with the last confirmed report being the seizing of an Iranian dhow in late March.