Tuesday June 30, 2026
Cairo (HOL) — Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday it is coordinating with authorities in Somalia and Yemen to secure the release of Egyptian sailors held aboard the hijacked transport vessel MT Eureka off the Somali coast.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has ordered daily monitoring of the case and instructed Egypt’s embassy in Mogadishu to maintain continuous high-level contact with Somali authorities, the ministry said.
The diplomatic efforts are focused on accelerating the crew’s release and ensuring that the Egyptian sailors have decent living conditions while they remain on board.
The Egyptian Embassy in Mogadishu has also established communication between the sailors and their families to reassure relatives about their safety.
At the same time, Egypt’s embassy in Riyadh, which is accredited to Yemen’s government, has been instructed to contact Yemeni authorities and the vessel’s owner, according to the statement.
“Those contacts are aimed at speeding up efforts to secure the sailors’ release and ensuring the welfare of the crew while the situation remains unresolved,” it added.
Abdelatty also directed the ministry’s consular sector to hold regular meetings with the families of the abducted sailors and brief them on government efforts to secure their release.
Security officials in Puntland said the armed men involved in the hijacking are believed to have departed from a remote coastal area in northeastern Somalia. Some officials identified the area as near Qandala, while others cited the coastal town of Caluula, also known as Alula.
Caluula lies on the Gulf of Aden, about 209 kilometers, or 130 miles, from the area where some officials said the hijackers departed before seizing the MT Eureka.
The reported hijacking has raised renewed concerns over maritime security in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast, a region that has seen sporadic piracy incidents despite years of international naval patrols and regional security efforts.