Cargo Ship Reports Attack near Hodeidah, Yemen

UKMTO received a report of the incident at about 0720 hours UTC on Sunday. The master of a cargo vessel issued a distress alert at a position about 30 nautical miles to the southwest of Hodeidah, the largest Houthi-controlled seaport on Yemen's Red Sea coast. The master reported that the vessel was under attack by "unknown armed assailants."      The region has historically been under firm Houthi control, lowering the odds of a for-profit piracy incident. However, the Houthis - the sole instigators of attacks on passing vessels in the area in years past - ceased aggression against international shipping last year. The group recently renewed its threats against against Israeli ships only, citing Israel's territorial incursion into southern Lebanon, where Houthi-allied terrorist group Hezbollah holds sway. The national ties of the vessel involved in Sunday's incident have not been disclosed.   Multiple incidents have been reported off the coast of Balhaf, Yemen, in the Gulf of Aden. The area is on the east side of Bab el-Mandeb and outside of Houthi control. 

On July 1, the crew of a vessel reported that a small boat approached, and that armed assailants initiated an illegal boarding. The attackers damaged equipment on the bridge and other nearby compartments while the crew remained hidden in the citadel. Later the same day, the master of a tanker reported a suspicious approach by a craft with four people aboard at a position about 85 nautical miles to the south of Balhaf.  Bottom of Form

On June 21, a product tanker reported an attempted boarding by five personnel in a skiff in the same region. On June 17, a vessel was attacked by two skiffs with armed personnel on board, and the merchant ship's embarked security team had to drive them off with small arms fire. On June 15, a vessel reported the approach of a small skiff. The assailants in the small boat opened fire on the merchant ship with an RPG launcher. A similar attempted attack occurred on June 9.