Armed persons on a small skiff fired on an LNG tanker in the Gulf of Aden on 17 October, in the latest maritime security incident as Somali piracy shows signs of resurgence in the region.
The vessel was approached by a skiff carrying seven people around 140 nautical miles (260km) southwest of Al Mukalla, Yemen, according to a report by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The master of the LNG tanker reported that the skiff fired two shots at the vessel. The tanker's armed security team responded with two warning shots, prompting the small craft to alter course and abandon its pursuit of the tanker, UKMTO said.
No injuries or damage were reported. Authorities were investigating the incident, while UKMTO advised vessels transiting the area to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.
The incident follows the hijacking of the Eritrean-flagged "shadow fleet" tanker Sibu 1 off Yemen in August, when six armed men boarded the vessel and took control of the ship while it was sailing through the Gulf of Aden. The vessel and its crew were later freed at the end of September following a military operation.
Security risks in the Gulf of Aden remain elevated. The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) on 18 October assessed the threat level in the region as "substantial", citing piracy-related incidents alongside Houthi rhetoric and attacks. JMIC warned of a "strong possibility" of maritime security incidents in coastal approaches, transit corridors and established small-craft operating areas.
There have been 15 piracy-related incidents reported off Somalia and in surrounding waters during January-September this year, according to the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB), up from three during the same period a year earlier.
The IMB said in its 15 October report that Somali pirates were responsible for eight hijackings and four incidents in which vessels were fired upon during the first nine months of the year. Attacks have spread across the Gulf of Aden, the eastern Somali coast and the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the organisation added, highlighting a growing threat to commercial shipping transiting one of the world's busiest maritime corridors.
