A merchant vessel was attacked by pirates while sailing in the Gulf of Aden on 16 October, according to data provided by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The incident was reported in position: 004900N 0505300E. The attackers fired shots against the vessel, but the armed guards onboard returned the shots. The attackers abandoned their plan to board the ship and escaped on their skiff. The Master confirmed the vessel and crew are safe.
UKMTO advised vessels transiting the area to exercise caution.
In its piracy report for the second quarter of 2018, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) reported a total of 107 piracy incidents in African waters in the first half of the year. In contrast to Nigerian piracy in the wider area of Gulf of Guinea, Somali piracy seems to present a downward trend in this year so far.
The latest attack in the area was reported in February 2018 involving the Singapore-flagged oil/chemical tanker ‘Leopard Sun‘ which was attacked, 165 km off Somalia.
