Armed assailants are believed to have boarded the chemical tanker Asana off the southern coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden on Friday and are in control of the vessel, maritime security sources said.
Incident Details
The small tanker, which had no confirmed flag, had listed the Somali port of Bosaso as its next destination, ship tracking data showed. Based on initial assessments, the incident appeared to be related to Somali piracy rather than Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia, one of the maritime security sources said.
A vessel was boarded by unauthorised personnel while transiting east in the Gulf of Aden, 65 nautical miles south of Yemen’s Al Mukalla port, the British navy agency UKMTO said on Friday. A South Korean warship had been despatched to the area, an official with Greek maritime security company Diaplous said.
The vessel issued a distress call at around 0620 GMT on Friday and did not have an armed security team when the incident occurred, British maritime security group Ambrey said, adding that the assailants were suspected to be part of a pirate action group.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
