A merchant vessel successfully defended itself against an armed attack from multiple small craft about 15 nautical miles off the coast of Yemen, as reported by the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO). This incident is part of ongoing security concerns in waters where significant shipping lanes are contemplating the resumption of transits through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. The exchange involved around 15 small craft that moved close to the vessel before the confrontation occurred, but the vessel’s crew remained safe and continued to their next destination.
UKMTO classified the incident as suspicious activity and urged vessels in the area to navigate carefully and report any similar occurrences. This attack follows a previous incident on December 5, involving the bulk carrier Bobic, which faced coordinated assaults from small crafts and a suspected mothership in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. An armed security team on the Bobic successfully repelled both attacks.
Traffic through the Suez Canal has shown signs of recovery, with November reporting 1,156 ships carrying 48.5 million tons of cargo, significantly higher than figures from the previous year. This uptick appears amid tentative improvements in maritime security following a Houthi announcement to suspend operations in the Red Sea. However, experts suggest that risks in these waters should be viewed as diminished, but not entirely eliminated.
