The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has reported an incident involving a merchant vessel on June 30, 13 nautical miles southwest of Al Mukha, Yemen.
At 07:21 UTC, the vessel’s Master reported being approached by a group of 12 small craft. The group consisted of a mixture of fast boats and smaller kayak-type boats, some of which were observed to be uncrewed. The closest point of approach of these small craft was 1.5 nautical miles from the merchant vessel.
UKMTO ADVISORY
INCIDENT 096 – SUSPICIOUS APPROACH https://t.co/89wzsj0pnq#MarSec #MaritimeSecurity pic.twitter.com/YXokDi6wzE
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) June 30, 2024
The small boats lingered in the vicinity of the vessel for approximately one hour before departing. Despite the potentially alarming nature of the encounter, the vessel and its crew have been confirmed safe. The vessel is continuing its journey to its next port of call.
