Maritime risk rarely moves in isolation. This week’s Maritime Intelligence Brief tracks two very different, but strategically significant, patterns of activity affecting commercial operators.
In the western Indian Ocean, Somali piracy activity has increased sharply through the first half of 2026. After years of relative suppression, Pirate Action Groups are showing renewed confidence, with recent approaches and attacks shifting towards the Gulf of Aden and Yemeni coastal waters.
Recent incidents have involved aggressive skiff approaches, small-arms fire and, in one case, an RPG fired towards a tanker. No successful boarding was confirmed in the latest reporting period, but the tempo, geographic spread and tactics being observed point to a more active threat environment for slower or less-protected vessels.
Further east, the South China Sea continues to see escalating grey-zone pressure. Chinese maritime law enforcement activity around Taiwan-controlled features, combined with rapid reclamation and infrastructure development at Antelope Reef, highlights the persistent use of maritime presence, construction and coercive pressure below the threshold of open conflict.
For operators, insurers and risk teams, the issue is not any single incident. It is the wider direction of travel.
Piracy is reasserting itself in waters already affected by regional conflict, while grey-zone activity in the South China Sea is creating a more complex operating picture around disputed maritime spaces.
The full Maritime Intelligence Brief includes incident detail, regional assessment and operator-focused analysis.
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