Qatar condemns hijacking of oil tanker carrying Egyptian sailors in Yemen’s territorial waters

Qatar condemned on Tuesday the hijacking of an oil tanker in Yemeni territorial waters, with several Egyptian sailors on board.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement the tanker was taken to Somali territorial waters near the Puntland region, calling the incident “a flagrant violation of international law” and a “serious threat” to maritime security and international trade.

Doha expressed full solidarity with Egypt and the sailors’ families, stressing the need to ensure the crew’s safety and speed up their release, the ministry said.

It called for coordinated international efforts to protect maritime navigation and freedom of passage through international waterways, describing them as essential to regional and global security and stability.

Egypt confirmed on Monday that an oil tanker carrying eight Egyptian sailors was hijacked off Yemen’s coast and taken to Somalia.

The confirmation came days after Yemeni authorities said that a vessel was hijacked by pirates on May 2 off the coast of Shabwa Governorate in southwestern Yemen, with 12 Egyptian and Indian sailors on board.

The wife of an Egyptian sailor on the hijacked tanker said pirates have demanded a ransom for their release.

The Somali coast witnessed widespread piracy activity between 2008 and 2018, before declining for several years, only to reappear again in late 2023 amid rising regional escalation