(Representative image): “Military authorities reported that unauthorized personnel boarded a vessel while it was transiting east in the Gulf of Aden,” the UKMTO said.
The chemical tanker ship Asana is believed to have been hijacked by armed attackers in the Gulf of Aden on Friday.Reuters, citing maritime security sources, reported that the attackers took control of the ship, prompting the British Navy’s UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency to issue a warning.The ship had no confirmed flag. According to ship tracking data, the accident occurred while the tanker was crossing east off the southern coast of Yemen. It turned out that its next destination was the Somali port of Bossaso.The UKMTO, citing military authorities, said the incident occurred about 65 nautical miles south of the Yemeni port of Mukalla. British maritime agency UKMTO said unauthorized personnel boarded the ship as it was transiting east in the Gulf of Aden, about 65 nautical miles south of the Yemeni port of Mukalla.According to a Reuters report, maritime security sources said the attackers were believed to be controlling Asana.A maritime security source said that initial assessments indicate that the incident is likely linked to Somali piracy and not to the Yemeni Houthi militia allied with Iran.British maritime risk management group Vanguard said: “Details regarding the number of attackers, circumstances of boarding, and the status of the vessel and its crew remain unclear.”
An official at the Greek maritime security company Diablos said that a South Korean warship had been sent to the area.British maritime security group Ambrey said the ship issued a distress call around 0620 GMT on Friday and did not have an armed security team when the incident occurred, adding that the attackers were suspected to be part of a pirate action group.Shipping databases listed the vessel’s operator as Marshall Islands-based Exxon Energy, which could not be reached for comment.This development comes amid growing concerns about maritime security in the region. Iran has asked the Houthis in Yemen to prepare to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States attacks Iranian energy infrastructure, posing a powerful new threat to global energy supplies, sources told Reuters on Thursday.