A vessel located 15 nautical miles (28 kilometres) west of Yemen reported an exchange of fire after sighting about 15 small craft at a range of 1–2 cables, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Friday.
The vessel said the craft later left the area and that it remains on high alert.
The ship's master reported the crew was safe and that it is continuing to its next port of call.
The identity of the attackers remains unknown. However, Yemen’s Iran-affiliated Houthi terrorists have posed an ongoing threat to shipping in the area since they first began targeting commercial vessels in November 2023, which they claim is an act of “solidarity” with Palestinians amid Israel’s war in Gaza.
In October, the group attacked a Dutch-flagged general cargo ship. The strike injured two sailors and forced the helicopter evacuation of the vessel’s 19 crew members after a fire broke out on board.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Alexandra Hudson)