Pirates have taken control of an oil tanker carrying 17 crew members as it sailed near the coast of Somalia, according to several security officials.

The vessel, Honour 25, was attacked late on Wednesday by six armed men while it was about 30 nautical miles from shore. The attackers managed to overpower the crew and seize the ship.

Piracy in this part of the Indian Ocean had almost disappeared three years ago after years of being known as one of the most dangerous مناطق for hijackings. However, incidents have recently returned, with fishing boats and cargo ships increasingly being targeted.

The hijacking of a tanker heading toward Mogadishu is expected to raise concern in the city, where fuel prices have already sharply increased since the outbreak of the US-Israel conflict with Iran.

Officials from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland said the ship was carrying around 18,500 barrels of oil.

According to shipping data, the tanker left the port of Berbera in Somaliland on 20 February. It later reached waters near the United Arab Emirates shortly after the regional conflict began.

Tracking information shows the ship moving in circles near the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz before turning back on 2 April and heading toward Mogadishu.

Now under pirate control, the tanker has anchored close to the Somali coastline between the fishing towns of Xaafun and Bander Beyla.

The crew includes people from several countries: Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. Reports say that five additional armed men have since boarded the ship, increasing the number of hijackers.

Security sources believe the attackers launched their operation from a remote area near Bander Beyla, though it remains unclear how they managed to locate and seize the tanker so quickly.

So far, neither Somali authorities nor the European Naval Force, which monitors piracy in the region, has issued an official statement about the hijacking.