Vessel involved in 'incident' south of Yemen’s Nishtun - British Maritime Agency

Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Agency said, on Friday, a vessel was involved in an “incident” south of Yemen’s coastal town of Nishtun, downgrading the event from an “attack”, Reuters reports.

The Agency had previously said the vessel was under attack and that shots were fired, adding that three boats, each with three or four people aboard, were also sighted.

UKMTO later said it had confirmed the event by authorities as government agency activity and was downgrading it from an attack to an incident.

Maritime security company, Ambrey, said that, based on information provided to them, the vessel in question was a Cook Islands-flagged yacht, which was approached by Yemen’s Coast Guard (YCG) after it did not respond to radio calls.

“According to the YCG, an armed security team, non-Ambrey, on board the yacht then opened fire on the approaching Yemenis and attempted to escape perceived pirates,” Ambrey said.

“The YCG returned fire and followed the yacht for approximately an hour until communications with the yacht could be established and the misunderstanding between the parties resolved.”

YCG had no immediate comment when contacted.

Several vessels have been attacked in recent years off the coast of Yemen which has been torn apart by an eight-year conflict between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

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