Suspicious Approach on a tanker, Gulf of Aden
Issued: 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Date Reference Region Category Aggressors Source
2026-07-13 10:19:00 CW Alert 009- (Jul 26) Indian Ocean Suspicious activity Possible Pirates CSO/UKMTO
A CSO has reported that a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker has been approached by six small craft on the starboard side whilst underway approximately 50nm South of Aden, Yemen. Five of the craft maintained a distance of 1nm whilst one small craft closed to a distance of 0.5nm, prompting the Armed Security Team onboard to fire warning shots, resulting in the small craft moving away. The tanker has subsequently managed to increase the approximate distance from the suspicious craft to 2nm. UPDATE: Clearwater have received further information that the distance between the suspicious craft and the tanker has now increased to 5nm and the vessel is classed as safe. It was also reported that no weapons or boarding equipment were sighted.
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