Cargo Ship M/V LUTUF Hijacked off Somalia with Six Indian Nationals Aboard

22 August 2026National

The Cameroon-flagged general cargo vessel M/V LUTUF was seized by armed pirates on 17 August 2026 off Marraya in Somalia's Puntland region, with six Indian nationals among the crew. The hijacking revives concerns over piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Somali coast corridor, a shipping lane critical to India's crude and container trade. The Indian Navy has maintained continuous anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since 2008 and has escorted thousands of merchant ships; it also runs Operation Sankalp in the wider region. Puntland is a semi-autonomous state in north-eastern Somalia and a historic base for piracy networks.

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Somalia: capital Mogadishu, currency Somali Shilling; it lies on the Horn of Africa | The Gulf of Aden connects the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea via the Bab-el-Mandeb strait | The Indian Navy's motto is 'Sam No Varunah'; Navy Day is observed on 4 December

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