A merchant ship sailing off the southern coast of Yemen fired shots in an encounter with an armed small boat on Tuesday. This incident seems more like piracy rather than missile and drone attacks usually linked to the c...
A merchant ship sailing off the southern coast of Yemen fired shots in an encounter with an armed small boat on Tuesday. This incident seems more like piracy rather than missile and drone attacks usually linked to the conflicts involving the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a cargo ship was approached by a small boat carrying six armed men, about 88 nautical miles southwest of Balhaf, Yemen.
According to UKMTO, "there was an exchange of fire between the small boat and the Armed Security Team on the cargo vessel, causing the small boat to retreat." Authorities are currently looking into what happened.
This incident took place in waters close to the Gulf of Aden, a region known for Somali piracy, although such pirate activity has been much less frequent compared to the peak years during the late 2000s and early 2010s.
This event comes shortly after the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen announced plans to resume attacks on Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea and nearby waters. However, the tactics mentioned by UKMTO are quite different from recent Houthi methods, which mainly included missiles, drones, and explosive-laden unmanned boats instead of armed personnel in small boats.
No injuries or damage to the cargo vessel were reported.