Pirates Hijack St. Kitts and Nevis-Flagged Cargo Vessel off Somali Coast

St. Kitts and Nevis: A St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged cargo vessel carrying cement has been hijacked off the coastal town of Garacad in Somalia on Monday. The ship, identified as Sward, is now being sailed toward the Somali coastline, raising fears of a prolonged standoff, as warned by British security firms Vanguard and Ambry.

The vessel reportedly carried around 15 crew members, including two Indian nationals and 13 Syrians. The crew members are believed to be held hostage. The ship was seized by nine pirates six nautical miles northeast of Garacad, in the Puntland region of Somalia, as per the UK Maritime Trade Organisation.

Notably, the vessel had departed from Egypt and was en route to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. The trade operations also issued a warning and noted, “The UK MTO has received a report of an incident 6Nm northeast of Garacad, Somalia. It has been reported that unauthorized persons have taken control of a cargo vessel which has been redirected to within territorial waters.”

The UK MTO also noted that the vessel is currently assessed to be under pirate control and further information will be notified to the Puntland Maritime Police Force.

Piracy off Somalia’s coast was once considered among the most dangerous in the world. However, it has declined significantly over the past decade due to international naval patrols and improved maritime security.

Somali pirates caused havoc in the waters off the Horn of Africa nation’s long coastline between 2008 and 2018. After security measures were tightened, pirate activity came to a stop, but it began picking up again in late 2023.

The incident has now triggered alerts and further tightened the security measures across the shores.

Notably, the most recent such incident occurred in November 2025, when armed assailants attacked a commercial tanker off the coast of Mogadishu. This was considered the first such incident since 2024. Further information will be provided by UKTMO if the reports are being recovered on the condition of the hostages.