A cargo ship has reported a suspicious approached by armed men in a small boat off Somalia.
Security company Ambrey Analytics said it was aware of an incident 92 nautical miles (170 km) north-west of Bosaso in the early hours of Friday.
A merchant vessel spotted a blue-hulled boat approaching off its starboard side.
This craft contained five or six armed men and came within 100 metres of the unnamed ship.
A ladder was sighted on the boat, Ambrey said.
The cargo vessel then altered course and sounded its horn.
The private armed security team on board stood and brandished their weapons.
As the boat continued to approach, the guards fired two warning shots and the boat shot at the bigger vessel in return.
The approach then ended, the company added.
The cargo ship had an estimated 7.35m freeboard at the time and continued its voyage westbound.
No injuries were reported.
Mothership spotted?
Security company Diaplous Group had received reports on Thursday regarding the sighting of a possible pirate mothership 357 nautical miles east of Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean.
“Vessels in the area are advised to transit with extreme caution and report instantly any suspicious activity,” the company said.
On 22 April, TradeWinds reported an unnamed tanker reporting suspicious activity in the Arabian Sea at a time of increased piracy threat.
The International Maritime Bureau said the vessel was followed by a smaller boat for 30 minutes at 14 knots.
The ship’s position was 595 nautical miles (1,100 km) east of Yemen’s Socotra island, deep in international waters.
The other vessel had three smaller skiffs with it. The tanker was unable to confirm whether weapons or ladders were present.
The location was about 10 nautical miles north of a floating armoury housing armed guards.
Security company Africa Risk Compliance said no guards were on the tanker.
