The skiffs are back and the ransom notes are flying in the Horn of Africa. The UK Maritime Trade Operations raised the threat level to ‘substantial’ this week after a product tanker named Honour 25 was seized on April 22nd. According to security consultants at the Diaplous Group, the vessel was hijacked 24 miles southeast of Hafun by armed men who apparently haven’t forgotten the lucrative business of maritime hostage-taking.

It hasn’t just been the Honour 25. A Turkish cement ship called the Sward is also under pirate control with nine gunmen aboard, according to Puntland officials. The BBC reports that the chaos in the Middle East has sent gasoline prices soaring in Somalia, making the hijacking of an oil tanker the ultimate local side-hustle. EUNAVFOR Atalanta is reportedly monitoring three separate incidents, but the pirates are already blending back into the usual traffic with their dhows.

For the global elite, this is more than a logistical hiccup. It is a return to a more primitive, dramatic style of commerce. When a 3,000-ton ship can be taken by five men in a plastic boat, the illusion of modern control evaporates. The shipping lanes are becoming a high-stakes lottery, and the price of the ticket is rising by the day.