The Yemen-based Regional Maritime Information Sharing Centre has been issuing false piracy alerts, the IMO has warned.
The UN-backed body said the ongoing civil war in Yemen has caused the centre to suspend operations and that updates coming from infoex@remisc.org "are not legitimate".
"IMO has supported the REMISC since its establishment and operationalisation. However, the organisation has no responsibility or oversight with respect to its current operations," the UN body said.
The war in Yemen has raged since 2015 between Houthi rebels backed by Iran and government forces, backed by the US and Saudi Arabia. It has displaced 2 million, killed more than 91,000 and left more than 22 million in need of humanitarian aid, according to the Council of Foreign Relations.
According to the International Maritime Bureau, there were no incidents of piracy in the first quarter of 2019, but the organization said the threat of attacks still exists in the region.
