Somali pirates, who had disappeared for a while, are becoming active again by taking advantage of the war involving Iran.

The U.S. media outlet Politico reported on the 19th, local time, based on data from maritime intelligence firm Windward, that at least five pirate attacks by Somali pirates have occurred since April, including one early this week.

The New York Times (NYT) also cited data from TankerTrackers.com to report that Somali pirates hijacked the oil tanker Cibu 1 off the coast of Yemen on the 20th.

The oil tanker is known to have regularly transported Iranian crude oil to the port of Ras Isa in Yemen, which is controlled by the Houthi rebel group.

Three days before the hijacking of the Cibu 1, a weapon-laden Cameroonian-flagged cargo ship, the Lutuf, was seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia.

According to the Maritime Security Center, more than 17 acts of piracy, including at least three commercial ships and five dhows (coastal sailing wooden boats), were reported in the waters off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden between January and May of this year.

Currently, a total of six ships are being detained by pirates, with around 100 crew members held hostage.

Experts point out that the resurgence of Somali pirates is due to the war involving Iran.

Naval resources from various countries that used to monitor pirate activities in the Gulf of Aden area have been redeployed to the Middle East.

Ian Ralby, CEO of the non-profit maritime safety organization Auxilium Worldwide, told the NYT, "Because the maritime security situation has widely deteriorated, pirate attacks are happening at their most frequent rate in nearly 15 years."

The environment where "criminal profits" from attacking commercial ships have grown due to rising prices of crude oil and raw materials caused by the Iran war is also one of the incentives for the resurgence of Somali pirates.

Brett Erickson, CEO of the consulting firm Obsidian Risk Advisors, explained to Politico, "It's clearly a very promising business for pirates," adding, "With so many resources tied up across the Middle East right now, the risk of receiving a U.S. response is much lower, so it is an opportunity for them."

Somali pirates were most active from 2005 to 2010, but began to decrease thereafter due to international operations involving NATO and the European Union, as well as commercial ships' own increased vigilance and arming.

As even the Red Sea shipping route, which served as an alternative to the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, is now threatened by the resurgence of Somali pirates, the energy market faces yet another negative factor.

Erickson said, "Although the number of ships targeted by pirate attacks is small, it poses another threat to the shipping industry, which is already under extreme stress from ship attacks occurring around the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait."

He added, "While the threat from Somali pirates itself may not be fatal, combined with all the other factors, their actions are making a significant difference."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)