A product tanker has been hijacked off Yemen, adding to signs of renewed Somali piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden.

The 3,300 dwt Eureka was boarded by armed men on Saturday near Yemen’s Shabwa coast. After taking control, the attackers redirected the Togo-flagged vessel toward Somali waters. Authorities said the tanker had been located and was being tracked, while efforts continued to regain control and protect those onboard.

The 2006-built vessel is owned by UAE-based Royal Shipping Lines.

The hijacking follows several recent security incidents in the same area. Earlier this month, the Liberian-flagged bulker New Venture was pursued by a skiff carrying seven armed people, including an RPG, about 92 nautical miles southwest of Mukalla inside the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor. Another bulker later reported a suspicious approach roughly 84 nautical miles off Al Mukalla.

Somalia-linked piracy has also increased in recent weeks. In late April, the tanker Honour 25 and the general cargo vessel Sward were hijacked, with monitoring still underway.

The Joint Maritime Information Center raised the piracy threat level for the Somali coast and wider basin to “severe” at the end of April, shortly after lifting it to “substantial”.

The latest attack occurred on the Gulf of Aden route between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, a major trade lane already affected by regional security pressure. Somali piracy had been reduced for years through naval coordination and stronger onboard protection, but reduced patrol coverage and shifting security priorities in nearby conflict zones have created room for renewed pirate activity.