A Chinese fishing vessel, Liao Dong Yu 578, was hijacked off Puntland, Somalia, on New Year's Day, raising maritime security concerns.
Maritime security consultancy firm Vanguard Tech has reported that a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel operating off the coast of Puntland, Somalia, has been hijacked.
The vessel, named Liao Dong Yu 578, was seized off the coast of Bandarbeyla (09°09 N – 050°43 E). The pirates reportedly launched their operation early in the afternoon on New Year's Day, local time, with intentions to release the crew in exchange for ransom.
Historically, Somali pirate gangs have utilized seized fishing boats as "motherships" to attack larger commercial vessels in the Indian Ocean. Previous incidents have shown that Chinese-flagged fishing vessels have been released directly in exchange for high ransoms.
If Vanguard Tech's report is accurate, this marks the second hijacking of Liao Dong Yu 578. The vessel was previously captured off Puntland in November 2024 and released in January 2025 after a ransom of approximately 2 million dollars was paid.
This incident was confirmed by the EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) weeks later; however, EUNAVFOR has yet to confirm Vanguard's claim of a second hijacking.
U.S. Criticism of IUU Fishing
Dave Harvilicz, Deputy Secretary for Cyber, Infrastructure, Risk and Resilience Policies at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, emphasized that the Liao Dong Yu fleet is involved in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing off the coast of Somalia.
Harvilicz noted that the fleet's focus on valuable yellowfin tuna fishing is leading to rapid depletion of stocks. In a statement last month, he said: "Due to the continuous IUU fishing by Chinese and other foreign fleets, Somalia's yellowfin tuna stocks are facing a collapse that could devastate the economy and threaten food security. IUU fishing costs Somalia about 300 million dollars a year and threatens the livelihoods of up to 90,000 traditional fishermen."
According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, local governments in Puntland operate with a semi-autonomous structure and issue their own fishing licenses to Chinese operators.
The Africa Defense Forum reports that this practice complicates the consistency of fisheries management and deepens regulatory gaps.
Source: www.denizhaber.com
