Commercial Vessel Damaged in Pirate Attack off the Coast of Yemen

A commercial vessel was attacked on Wednesday by armed pirates approximately 85 nautical miles south of Balhaf, in Yemen’s Shabwa Governorate.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported in an advisory that the vessel sustained damage to its bridge after armed assailants aboard a small boat fired a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at it.

The agency stated that “the suspicious small craft, carrying four individuals and armed with RPG launchers, has departed from the vessel but remains active in the area and may pose a threat to other ships.”

The statement added that the boat headed south after leaving the scene, while the vessel’s crew remained safe and the ship continued its voyage.

A Yemeni source said that the boat belonged to Somali pirates, who had been operating in the area in search of fishing opportunities and commercial vessels to hijack.

Dozens of piracy attempts have recently been recorded off the Yemeni coast, including in May, when armed Somali pirates hijacked the Togolese-flagged oil tanker Eureka off the coast of Shabwa. The vessel was subsequently taken to the shores of Somalia’s Puntland region, where the hijackers demanded a ransom of 10 million US dollars.