1 hour ago
Suspected Somali pirates boarded the tanker Asana south of Yemen after it issued a distress call. The attack underlines renewed piracy risks in the Gulf of Aden amid wider Red Sea tensions.
Cairo,UPDATED: Jul 17, 2026 17:48 IST
An armed group boarded a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen on Friday, the British military said, in the latest attack in waters that have seen renewed pirate activity.
British maritime security firm Ambrey said Somali pirates are believed to have boarded the tanker, which did not have an armed security team on board. The vessel sent out a distress call while travelling west, and a Korean naval ship was heading to assist it.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said military authorities had reported that the vessel was boarded by "unauthorised personnel" south of Yemen's al-Mukalla province. Maritime Traffic data showed the ship was the Tanzania-flagged oil and chemical tanker Asana, which was on its way to Bosaso in Somalia.
Yemen's coast guard in Aden did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The incident is the latest maritime attack off Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries, which has been devastated by a civil war that has lasted for years.
Somali pirates have recently been active farther out in the Gulf of Aden. On July 1, suspected pirates attacked a vessel 76 nautical miles, or 140 kilometres, south of the port town of Balhaf in southeastern Yemen. According to the UKMTO, four armed men in a small craft caused minor damage to the ship's bridge.
On Thursday, the European Union signed a deal with Djibouti to strengthen its Red Sea naval force against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have repeatedly threatened to attack vessels in the Red Sea. The EU operates two maritime security fleets in the Red Sea, a key waterway linking the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal with the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Yemen has been in civil war since 2014, with the Iran-backed Houthis fighting a Saudi-led coalition that supports the country's government. While the Iran war that began on February 28 reignited regional rivalries, the peace between the Houthis and Saudis had mostly held until this week. Friday's boarding of the Asana came amid that backdrop, along with renewed pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden and fresh moves to strengthen naval security in the Red Sea.
With PTI Inputs
- Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Jul 17, 2026 17:48 IST
