The hijacking of a cargo vessel bound for Mombasa is the latest sign of a worrying resurgence of Somali piracy, with maritime security experts warning that political instability, economic hardship and shifting geopolitical priorities are creating conditions for a return of attacks along one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.

The latest incident follows a string of recent hijackings off the Somali coast, including the seizure of the oil tanker Honour 25 just days earlier. Security officials and shipping monitors say pirate networks that had remained largely dormant for more than a decade are once again becoming active, raising concerns about maritime security in the western Indian Ocean.

Against that backdrop, the merchant vessel Sward, carrying cement from Egypt to Kenya and sailing under the flag of St. Kitts and Nevis, was hijacked near the Puntland port of Garacad on 26 April. Armed men boarded the ship about six nautical miles off the Somali coast before forcing it toward an anchorage near Garacad.

The vessel’s 17 crew members, most of them Syrian nationals, remained on board. Security officials later reported that additional armed men and an interpreter fluent in English and Arabic joined the hijackers, suggesting preparations for negotiations with the ship’s owners.

Writing for The Conversation Africa, researchers Anja Shortland of King’s College London and Federico Varese of the University of Oxford argue that the recent attacks are being fuelled by three converging factors: political turmoil in Somalia, worsening economic conditions linked in part to reductions in international aid, and the diversion of maritime security resources as global attention shifts to the conflict involving Iran and instability in the Red Sea region.

The authors note that piracy never fully disappeared. Between 2005 and 2012, Somali pirates carried out more than 1,000 attacks, hijacked 218 vessels and took thousands of sailors hostage. While international naval patrols, private security measures and development programmes dramatically reduced attacks, many pirate networks were never dismantled. According to the researchers, the recent incidents suggest those networks may have been dormant rather than defeated.

Analysts also point to broader pressures in the region. The near-closure of key shipping routes in the Middle East and the diversion of naval assets toward Red Sea security operations have reduced the attention devoted to anti-piracy patrols off Somalia. At the same time, persistent poverty, weak governance and limited economic opportunities in coastal communities continue to provide fertile ground for pirate recruitment.

For shipping companies operating between the Suez Canal and East African ports such as Mombasa, the latest hijackings are a reminder that the underlying drivers of Somali piracy remain unresolved. Maritime security experts warn that unless those structural challenges are addressed, attacks could become more frequent in the months ahead.