Cargo vessel attacked in Red Sea off Yemen
UKMTO reports a bulk carrier came under small-boat fire around 30nm southwest of Hodeidah; crew reported safe.
A cargo vessel came under attack in the Red Sea off Yemen on Sunday, a reminder that the region's maritime security crisis is far from resolved. UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a distress alert from a ship reporting it was under attack by unknown armed assailants around 30 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, the Houthi-controlled port city.
According to UKMTO, a skiff approached a bulk carrier and opened fire; the vessel's armed security team returned fire and the attackers withdrew to a larger vessel about two nautical miles away that had its AIS switched off. The ship and crew were reported safe and an investigation is under way. No group claimed responsibility.
The incident follows a separate boarding south of Balhaf earlier in the week, later reclassified by UKMTO as an illegal boarding, and revives concerns about overlapping threats near Hodeidah and in the Gulf of Aden.
Source: Splash247; UKMTO.
