2025 in piracy began with a 35% surge in sea piracy and armed robbery, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), with 45 incidents during the first quarter of the year. [1] Incidents rose by up to 50% over the previous year, with the highest number of reported incidents since 2020 during the first half of the year. 90 incidents of naval armed robbery and piracy were reported by June, according to the IMB. [2] [3] Attacks on ships in Asia rose sharply in the first quarter, with 42 incidents reported by ReCAAP. [4] Six incidents of piracy were reported in the Gulf of Guinea during the same period, with 13 crew kidnapped. [5] While attacks remained on the rise in 2025, crew injuries were few; engine spares were the most reported theft aboard those vessels that were boarded by pirates. [6]
The IMB reported that incidents of piracy had risen by 25% in Gulf of Guinea by the end of the third quarter of 2025. [7]
The Marshall Islands-flagged Talara was sized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on November 14, which diverted the oil products tanker to its territorial waters from the United Arab Emirates' coast. The ''Talara'' had been en route to Singapore from the UAE port of Sharjah, carry a cargo of high-sulphur gasoil, a form of diesel fuel. The vessel is owned by Pasha Finance of Cypress, and managed by Columbia Shipmanagement, a Schoeller company. [8]