According to the Associated Press news agency, 12 pirates seized a fishing vessel named "Azini" with 23 passengers, including 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali guards, in the waters near the northeastern coast of Somalia (between the cities of Bandarbila and Hafun) and took all its crew members hostage. The Indian Ocean Maritime Security Centre, which expressed concern about the health of passengers, warned that the ship was approaching commercial shipping lanes and feared pirates would use it as a "mother ship" to organize and support new attacks on commercial and cargo ships in international waters. The incident follows a resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean, where shipping risks have escalated in recent months following regional crises, and the EU's maritime operation Atalanta has now launched an investigation into the incident.

According to the Associated Press news agency, 12 pirates seized a fishing vessel named "Azini" with 23 passengers, including 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali guards, in the waters near the northeastern coast of Somalia (between the cities of Bandarbila and Hafun) and took all its crew members hostage. The Indian Ocean Maritime Security Centre, which expressed concern about the health of passengers, warned that the ship was approaching commercial shipping lanes and feared pirates would use it as a "mother ship" to organize and support new attacks on commercial and cargo ships in international waters. The incident follows a resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean, where shipping risks have escalated in recent months following regional crises, and the EU's maritime operation Atalanta has now launched an investigation into the incident.