The Somali and Turkish navies killed 14 pirates during an operation to free a hijacked cargo ship off Somalia’s coast, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

The MV Latuf was seized by pirates on August 17 in waters off Jifle in Somalia’s northeastern Nugaal region. Somali forces, working alongside the Turkish Navy, carried out a ten-day operation to regain control of the vessel, according to the ministry. Four boats used by the pirates were destroyed during the operation.

The Cameroonian-flagged MV Latuf has since been returned to the control of Somali forces and resumed its journey. MarineTraffic data shows that the vessel departed Türkiye in late July and was bound for the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.

The Turkish Defense Ministry commented on the operation on Thursday, saying on X that “the Somali Turkish Task Force Command continues its support for developing Somalia’s capacity to combat terrorism and piracy within the framework of the agreements signed between the two countries.”

Somalia and Türkiye signed a ten-year defense and economic cooperation agreement in 2024, under which Ankara is helping to build, train and equip the Somali Navy. The deal also covers maritime security and efforts to combat piracy and illegal fishing along Somalia’s coastline.

From 2008 to 2018, Somali pirates disrupted critical world waterways, causing widespread chaos. After a period of relative quiet, pirate activity has begun to rise again. Piracy off the coast of Somalia hit its peak in 2011.

The latest seizure follows another piracy incident in the region in July. Seven armed pirates hijacked the Tanzanian-flagged fuel and chemical tanker MT Asana in the Gulf of Aden after it left Yemen’s Mukalla port. The vessel, which had 20 crew members on board, was heading to Somalia’s Bosaso when the attackers seized it and forced it into Somali territorial waters near Puntland.

Last month, the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB) warned of a resurgence of Somali piracy despite a global decline in maritime attacks. According to the bureau, Somali pirates were responsible for 94% of all crew taken hostage worldwide in the first half of 2026.