The liberation of the oil tanker "Sibu 1" from the grip of Somali pirates sparked widespread controversy, after the spread of video clips said to document the participation of Iraqis from the Shaghanbah clan in the process of liberating the ship and detaining a number of pirates.
While the maritime police force in Somalia's Puntland announced that it had carried out a planned naval operation that lasted 48 hours and ended with the liberation of the tanker and its crew, Iraqi platforms circulated a different story, talking about the participation of members of the Shaghanba clan in confronting the pirates and liberating the ship.
According to the "Marine Traffic" website, which specializes in tracking the movement of ships via an automatic identification system, the tanker "Cebu 1" is about 178 meters long, and its deadweight capacity reaches 32,238 tons. When she was kidnapped on August 20, 2026, she was flying the Eritrean flag. Tracking data shows that it left the Omani port of Shinas on August 8, and its declared destination was Port Sudan, before it lost its signal on August 20 off the coast of Yemen. The data also showed, according to what was reported by the “Masbar” platform, that the “Diamond Dew Drop Ship Management” company, based in Dubai, has appeared within the tanker’s management and operation structure since 2024.
US Treasury Department records indicate that the tanker, which was formerly known as "Simol", was linked to the Emirati company and was included in December 2025 among sanctions related to Iran. Specialized reports also classified it as part of what is known as the “shadow fleet” used to transport oil products linked to Iran and circumvent sanctions. However, these data do not mean that the Emirati company is necessarily the ultimate owner of the tanker.
According to circulating accounts, the tanker's course was changed and taken towards the Somali coast, while the number of the tanker's crew when it was hijacked was 20 people of different nationalities, including 16 Indians, Syrians, Sudanese, and Iraqis, in addition to an individual whose nationality had not been determined in the first reports. Indian sources confirmed these numbers, noting that the Indian authorities had contacted the Somali side to follow up on the conditions and safety of the Indian sailors.
The emergence of circulating video clips showing men in civilian clothes carrying weapons, or pictures of pirates inside an iron cage, actually proving that an armed operation to liberate Cebu 1 took place, but the clips raised a wave of skepticism about the validity of the information circulating about the operation. Although the clips have been confirmed by some specialized websites, they do not prove that members of the Shaghanba clan were the ones who carried out the liberation operation alone, nor does it prove that they were the force and decision maker. The ambiguity increases between two different stories. The official version in Puntland of Somalia attributes the operation to liberate the tanker to the marine police forces, which said they carried out a 48-hour operation that ended with the freedom of the crew and the arrest of the pirates.
On the other hand, Iraqi tribal pages attribute the entire liberation process to members of the Shaghanba clan, noting the participation of members of other clans.
The Iraqi account spoke of a confrontation that lasted more than five hours, and ended with the capture of a number of members of the armed group and the seizure of their weapons.
