Beware of pirates. Photo: shutterstock Pirate Attack Foiled at Bab el-Mandab Strait. A cargo ship was attacked by pirates near the Bab el-Mandab Strait, located at the meeting point between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, separating the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) from Djibouti and Eritrea to the southwest.
The incident was confirmed by an official report from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), an official British body that oversees the security of maritime trade and commercial shipping.
According to the report, the cargo ship managed to escape after being fired upon last Friday by small vessels suspected of carrying pirates. The crew responded by firing at the attackers, and the ship managed to pass through. This incident demonstrates how dangerous commercial shipping/shipping at sea still is. It should be noted that the strait is a vital strategic shipping lane that connects the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal.
According to UKMTO, the captain reported that his ship was attacked by a small boat that approached to within approximately 200 meters and opened fire. The UKMO noted that, according to initial reports, armed security personnel on board the ship returned fire at the small boat, which led to the attack being aborted and the small boats leaving the area. The ship’s crew was safe and unharmed, and the ship was continuing on its way to the next port
Additional reports indicated that later that day, the ship reported another attack by a small boat with five people on board, and a mother ship may have been sighted five nautical miles away.