Member states of the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCOC) are setting up a task force to address a resurgence of piracy in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.
As part of the initiative, DCOC nations are calling on members to exchange intelligence on suspicious vessels and emerging piracy threats, coordinate naval and coast guard operations, and work more closely with the shipping industry, as well as with international partners. The task force will also look to strengthen regional surveillance and response capabilities, while improving how quickly member states can act when piracy incidents are reported.
The DCOC was formed in 2009 by representatives from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen and several other African and Middle Eastern states, as a coordinated response to a surge in piracy that for years threatened trade routes and humanitarian supply chains across the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. Although the coalition's efforts were largely successful in suppressing piracy over the last decade, renewed global instability has allowed the threat to reemerge along key shipping routes in the region.
In April, U.K. Maritime Trade Operations raised the threat level off the coast of Somalia to "substantial," after four vessels in the area were targeted by suspected pirates over a single week. Then in July, the International Maritime Organization warned of a "worsening trend" around piracy and armed robbery in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, with the group recording 24 incidents of piracy against ships in the region between April and June. Globally, the IMO recorded 171 instances of piracy and armed robbery at sea in 2025, up from 146 in 2024.
The situation around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the pinch point where the Red Sea leads into the Gulf of Aden and out into the Arabian Sea, has been the site of attacks on Saudi and other nationality vessels by Iranian-backed Houthi militias, increasing the risks for international shipping.
