Two tankers and an LNG carrier have been forced to avoid a cluster of suspicious skiffs off Yemen in an apparent bomb attack by Houthi rebels.
Piracy reporting body Maritime Security Centre — Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) said a manned boat and two unmanned craft approached to within 0.07 nautical miles (130 metres) of one of the vessels on Tuesday morning.
The incident took place 172 km south of Nishtun in the maritime security transit corridor (MSTC).
The advisory notice said the ship responded by applying deterrent measures and moving out of the area.
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting the Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels said later on Wednesday it had foiled an attack on a tanker in the same location at the same time.
According to the state-run SPA news agency, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said the incident involved four boats.
The tanker was heading to the Gulf of Aden.
The aim was to trigger an explosion by using one of the unmanned skiffs, controlled from a distance.
Last month, the coalition said it destroyed an explosive-laden boat planted by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
The vessel was tracked and blown up the unmanned ship on Sunday in the Red Sea.
It was reportedly launched from Hodeidah in western Yemen.
Vessels take evasive action
Analysis by security consultancy agency Ambrey shows three vessels responded to the incident.
The first was the Saudi Arabia-flagged, 107,000-dwt aframax Gladiolus (built 1998), operated by Red Sea Marine Services, which was underway westbound at 11 knots.
AIS was active at the time but has since stopped transmitting, it said.
Soon after, the 156,000-dwt Ibaizabal Tankers suezmax Monte Urbasa (built 2018) was seen to be deviating from its course and increasing speed in the vicinity.
It had been underway at 13 knots.
Ambrey also said the 210,184-cbf LNG carrier Al Nuaman (built 2009) later routed around the location. The Nakilat-owned vessel was underway at 17 knots.
All the ships were reported to be safe.
Before this incident, UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had issued an advisory notice about a concentration of fishing vessels, some of which were unmanned, that were clustered six nautical miles from the location of the suspicious approach.
The pirate threat in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen and Somalia, and in the Gulf of Oman, has increased in 2020.
On Sunday, an attack on a product tanker by armed raiders was thwarted by a warship in the Gulf of Oman.
Two skiffs approached and circled the 2,950-dwt tanker Lady Sarah (built 1981) and the warship.
A transcript of a conversation between the warship and the vessel revealed it had been "boarded" by "five armed personnel".
When the naval vessel approached, the gunmen "disembarked".
This incident followed a series of warnings about suspicious approaches by vessels in the region.
