Gunmen Attack Cargo Ship off Yemen, Guards Return Fire 

Armed guards aboard a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden exchanged gunfire with six armed men in a small boat on Wednesday, forcing the attackers to withdraw from the area, the British military said. 

The incident occurred off the coast of Yemen and was reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a British military monitoring organization that tracks maritime security threats in the region. 

According to the UKMTO, the vessel was approached by a white skiff carrying six armed individuals while sailing approximately 88 nautical miles, or about 163 kilometers, southwest of Yemen’s Balhaf terminal. 

Security personnel on board the cargo ship responded to the approach by exchanging fire with the occupants of the skiff. The guards succeeded in driving the gunmen away, the UKMTO said. 

No injuries or damage were reported in the information released by the British military. No organization immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. 

The encounter took place along a shipping route that has faced repeated security threats. Separately, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants have announced that they intend to resume attacks against Israel-affiliated vessels transiting the Red Sea. 

The UKMTO did not identify the cargo ship involved in Wednesday’s incident and provided no further details about the attackers. 

Maritime security concerns in the area have not been limited to attacks by armed groups. Reports of piracy have also emerged in waters near Yemen and along surrounding shipping lanes.