A Malta-flagged products tanker en route from Sikka, India, to Durban, South Africa, was reportedly boarded by pirates off the coast of Somalia on Thursday, maritime security firm Ambrey and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

“The pirates were reported to have approached on a skiff and opened fire on the tanker,” Ambrey said in a statement, adding that the attackers were operating from a hijacked Iranian-flagged dhow.

The UKMTO separately confirmed that “unauthorised people had boarded a vessel southeast of Eyl, Somalia.” It was not immediately clear if both agencies were referring to the same incident, though their reported locations matched.

According to Ambrey, the assailants used machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades during the assault.

The attack is suspected to have been carried out by Somali pirates, who have become increasingly active in recent months and are believed to have seized several fishing vessels to use as mother ships. Iran has not acknowledged the reported hijacking of its dhow.

Piracy off Somalia’s coast peaked in 2011, when 237 attacks were recorded, costing the global economy an estimated $7 billion, including $160 million in ransom payments, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group. The threat later declined due to international naval patrols and improved Somali governance.

However, attacks have seen a resurgence over the past year. Analysts attribute this partly to the instability caused by Yemen’s Houthi rebels disrupting Red Sea shipping amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The International Maritime Bureau reported seven incidents off Somalia in 2024, with multiple fishing boats already seized by pirates this year.