Armed security personnel aboard a cargo vessel off Yemen’s coast fought off assailants in a small boat during an exchange of fire near the Bab Al Mandeb strait, in the latest maritime security incident in the area.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a security co-ordination centre run by the UK Royal Navy, said the vessel was approached in an area south-west of Balhaf, Yemen, by a small craft carrying six armed individuals.
There was an exchange of fire between the attackers and the security team on board the vessel. The assailants on the small boat subsequently broke off the approach.
No casualties or damage were reported and authorities are investigating the incident. Vessels in the area have been advised to sail with caution and report suspicious activity.
The incident occurred about 88 nautical miles, or about 163km, from Balhaf.
The development comes after Yemen’s Houthi rebels issued threats to Red Sea shipping. The group’s military spokesman, Brig Gen Yahya Al Saree, has previously declared a “complete ban on enemy navigation” in the Red Sea. He said “enemy ships” are to be treated as military targets and warned that operations would intensify in response to regional escalation.
Maritime security agencies continue to monitor heightened risks to commercial traffic through one of the world’s most sensitive maritime chokepoints.
The Houthis, who control parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, have spent the past two years demonstrating their ability to strike maritime targets using drones, mines, anti-ship missiles and explosive boats. The group attacked commercial vessels during the Red Sea crisis of 2023 and 2024, forcing major shipping companies to divert their vessels to alternative routes.
Bab Al Mandeb, a 29km-wide passage between Yemen on one side and Djibouti and Eritrea on the other, sits at the southern end of the Red Sea. About a 10th of global trade passes through the waterway, including oil, gas and container ships moving between Asia and Europe. The strait is divided into two channels by Mayyun Island – a narrower eastern channel used by smaller vessels and a wider western channel used by large commercial traffic.
