On November 6, 2025, Somali pirates attacked and seized the Malta-flagged tanker Hellas Aphrodite in the Indian Ocean, over 1,000 km off Somalia’s coast. The 24 crew members locked themselves safely in the ship’s citadel. The pirates, armed with machine guns and RPGs, reportedly operate from a hijacked Iranian fishing boat. EU naval forces are responding amid rising piracy linked to regional instability.