Egyptian sailors freed from hijacked UAE tanker off Somali coast

Egyptian authorities on Wednesday secured the release of eight Egyptian sailors who spent four months in captivity aboard the United Arab Emirates oil tanker M/T Eureka off the coast of Somalia’s Puntland region, the foreign ministry announced.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the release followed directives from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, continuous oversight by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, and “high-level” discussions Abdelatty held with Somali and Yemeni officials throughout the crew’s detention.

Abdelatty instructed the Egyptian embassy in Mogadishu to receive the crew members upon their release, evaluate their physical and psychological conditions, and expedite their return to Egypt on the earliest available flight, according to the ministry statement.

Somalia’s ambassador to Egypt, Ali Abdi Aware, said he spoke directly with the eight crew members to check on their well-being, confirming that all eight remain safe and unhurt. Aware added that Egyptian and Somali authorities continue to coordinate logistics to finalize the sailors’ return to Cairo.

The ordeal began on May 2, when armed assailants ambushed the Emirati tanker as it navigated waters off the Yemeni coast. The gunmen seized command of the ship and forced it toward the Somali coastline.

The tanker carried 12 crew members, comprising eight Egyptians and four Indians. Yemeni authorities reported at the time that nine Somali gunmen overpowered the vessel, which carried roughly 2,800 tons of diesel fuel. Marine tracking data indicated that the ship had sailed from the UAE’s port of Fujairah before the armed hijacking took place.

Following the hijacking, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated that it had instructed its diplomatic mission in Mogadishu to track the sailors’ welfare, extend necessary support, and secure their safe release.

Throughout the four-month hostage ordeal, the sailors’ families endured grueling uncertainty. Akram Mokhtar, whose son Mo’men served as the vessel’s captain, told Al Manassa that families faced severe obstacles when attempting to communicate with the crew. Mokhtar accused the Emirati vessel’s owner of stalling and dragging his feet on paying the ransom amount that kidnappers had agreed to accept.

Families also reported a complete blackout in communications during one phase of the sailors’ detention, before the Egyptian embassy in Mogadishu intervened to restore phone links between the crew and their anxious relatives.

The Eureka hijacking highlights a sharp resurgence in maritime piracy. Over the past four months, pirates have seized six commercial vessels, including three intercepted off the coast of Yemen.

The raids have stoked widespread alarm over crew safety and the stability of global shipping corridors traversing the Horn of Africa, where piracy operations increasingly intersect with wider security turmoil in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.