A merchant vessel was approached by pirates on a mother ship on the evening of Sunday, 21 January, in the Gulf of Aden, 90 nautical miles South East of Mukallah, according to the maritime security company LSS-SAPU.
The involved ship is said to be the Panama-flagged cement carrier ‘NACC Valbella’.
Armed SAPU guards onboard used warning flare and fired warning shots, while the approaching mother ship returned fire. When guards fired second warning shots, the said boat reduced speed and altered course. Nobody onboard was injured, while there was no material damage on the vessel.
Data provided by VesselsValue indicate the ship was heading to the Philippines province of Cebu by 5 February.
The incident was reported to UK Maritime Trade Operations.
Somali piracy resurgence has been among the key industry concerns through 2017, as nine incidents were reported in the past year in Somali waters, up from two in 2016, according to IMB.
On 23 January, the Dutch House of Representatives debated a bill for the introduction of private security forces on Dutch-flagged ships to protect vessels and crews from pirate attacks in the region.