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Armed pirates boarded the 'Bitu River' off West Africa on March 17, 2025, at 9 p.m. GMT 41 nautical miles southeast of Santo Antonio, Sao Tome and Principe, and opened gunfire. The bitumen tanker was en route from Lome to Douala. The raid may have been a kidnapping, with as many as 10 seafarers abducted, but this remained unconfirmed. The ship was drifting in the area for about an hour when the attack took place. The crew had retreated to the citadel. The shipowner has lost contact with the master. The vessel's onshore security officer reported that the perpetrators were still on board, indicating that there are five pirates on the vessel. The tanker is controlled by the French Rubis Energiand managed by the Indian Maritec Tanker Management.

While the 'Bonspeed 10' was towing the barge 'POE 2502' on the approaches to the westbound lane the Traffic Separation Scheme of the Singapore Strait on March 16, 2025, the latter was boarded by an unknown number of perpetrators at 08.56 a.m. in pos. 01° 29.03' N 104° 30.4' E. The intruders stole scrap metal from the barge. Only one day later, on March 17, the barge was again boarded by three perpetrators at 05.32 a.m. while sailing five nautical miles off Tanjung Piai in the Traffic Separation Scheme of the Singapore Strait in pos. 01° 12.28' N 103° 34.03' E. The robbers also stole scrap metal from the barge. No injuries were reported.

The 'Mito', while berthed in the port of Jakarta on March 8, 2025, was boarded by six perpetrators at 01.45 a.m. in pos. 06° 5.8' N 106° 53.01' E. The intruders stole spare parts of the generators and escaped. No injuries were reported. The ship, which had entered the port the previous day, sailed again on March 10, next headed to the port of Fremantle, where it arrived on March 16.

US aircraft targeted with two airstrikes the command post of the 'Galaxy Leader', the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television channel reported on March 16. The Houthis provided no further details on the attack, and there has been no official statement from the US or Israel regarding the incident. The 25 crew members were held hostage for over a year before being released this January with mediation from Oman. The Houthis warned Israel on March 7 to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip within four days or face renewed maritime operations against Israeli-linked vessels, when Israel blocked all aid into Gaza on March 2.

The 'Prisma', while transiting the Traffic Separation Scheme of the Singapore Strait on March 11, 2025, was boarded by six to seven perpetrators, armed with gun-like objects, at 02.40 a.m. in pos. 01° 5.6' N 103° 43.03' E. Nothing was reported stolen, and no injuries were reported.