Somali pirates have reportedly increased their ransom demand for the release of the hijacked oil tanker M/T Eureka, which carries eight Egyptian sailors, from $3 million to $10 million.
According to relatives of crew members, conditions aboard the vessel have deteriorated sharply. The wife of engineer Mohamed Radi said her husband informed her during a phone call that pirates had increased the number of armed guards on the ship while severely restricting food and water supplies.
The M/T Eureka, flying the Togo flag and carrying around 2,800 tonnes of diesel, was hijacked on 2 May off the coast of Yemen’s Shabwa Governorate by armed Somali pirates.
The vessel was subsequently taken into Somali territorial waters near the Puntland region. The crew reportedly includes sailors from Egypt and India.
Family members said the crew initially remained silent about the kidnapping to allow the Emirati company operating the vessel time to negotiate. They added that after the company declined to pay the initial ransom demand, the pirates sharply raised the amount.
The incident comes amid a resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia during 2026, driven by regional instability, tensions in the Red Sea and worsening economic conditions.
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has been monitoring the case since the hijacking occurred. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty instructed the Egyptian embassy in Mogadishu to coordinate with Somali authorities and work to secure the sailors’ release.
