Newsletters
Armed assailants boarded a chemical products tanker off the southern coast of Yemen on Friday and are believed to be in control of the vessel. Maritime security sources described the event as a suspected piracy incident, rather than an attack by Yemen's Houthi movement.
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said in a warning that it had received a report of an incident 65 nautical miles south of Al Mukalla, Yemen, with military authorities reporting the vessel was boarded by unauthorized personnel while transiting east through the Gulf of Aden.
"Authorities are investigating," UKMTO said, advising vessels to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.
UKMTO did not identify the vessel or disclose its flag or ownership in its public warning.
According to maritime security sources cited by Reuters, the vessel involved was the small chemical tanker Asana, which had no confirmed flag and had listed the Somali port of Bosaso as its next destination, according to ship tracking data.
The vessel's operator was listed in shipping databases as Marshall Islands-based Exon Energy.
One maritime security source told Reuters that, based on initial assessments, the incident appeared related to Somali piracy rather than Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
British maritime risk management group Vanguard said details regarding the number of assailants, the circumstances of the boarding, and the status of the vessel and crew "remain unclear."
British maritime security group Ambrey said the vessel issued a distress call at around 6:20 a.m. GMT Friday. The vessel did not have an armed security team aboard when the incident occurred, and the assailants were suspected to be part of a pirate action group, it said.
An official with the Greek maritime security company Diaplous told Reuters a South Korean warship had been dispatched to the area.
The incident comes amid broader tensions in Yemeni and Red Sea waters tied to the wider Iran-U.S. conflict.
Reuters reported Thursday that Iran had asked its Houthi allies in Yemen to stand ready to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a chokepoint for global energy shipments comparable to the Strait of Hormuz, if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure. While the maritime security source's assessment pointed away from Houthi involvement in Friday's specific incident.
The vessel-boarding incident also comes amid renewed exchanges between Iran and the U.S. despite a Pakistan-brokered Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last month aimed at ending their conflict, with tensions escalating in recent days, specifically over the Strait of Hormuz.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
2 min read
1 min read
