United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Friday it had received a report of a failed attempt to hijack a ship 195 nautical miles east of Aden, Yemen.
The captain of the ship said he was approached by a small boat carrying five or six armed people with ladders.
Yemen’s Houthi militants have launched drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean to show support for the Palestinians in the Gaza war.
According to maritime sources, the pirates could be emboldened by a relaxation of security or take advantage of the chaos caused by attacks by the Houthis, allies of Iran, on the ships.
After firing at the vessel, the occupants of the small boat were forced to abort their approach when the security team on board the vessel returned fire, the UKMTO reported.
The ship and its crew are safe, and the ship is heading to its next port of call, the UKMTO said. (Reporting by Tala Ramadan and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Michael Georgy and Mark Potter)
