UKMTO says a tanker reported a skiff tried to intercept it east of Aden
Yemen Herald News 
ADEN, Yemen — A tanker reported that a skiff chased it and tried to intercept it about 75 nautical miles east of Aden on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.
“A tanker travelling westbound has reported that a skiff has pursued and attempted to intercept the vessel,” the agency said in a post on X.
UKMTO said authorities were investigating. It logged the report as Warning 136-26.
The agency did not name the tanker, its flag or its operator. It did not say who was aboard the skiff, or how close the boat came.
No casualties or damage were reported. UKMTO gave no indication that the skiff reached or boarded the tanker.
UKMTO is the Royal Navy cell that collects reports from merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the wider Indian Ocean. It relays warnings to commercial operators and to naval forces working in the region.
The account of Thursday’s incident rests on UKMTO’s advisory and on the master’s report to it. No independent confirmation has been published, and no party has claimed responsibility.
Skiff approaches are a recurring pattern in the Gulf of Aden. They can point to armed robbery at sea, to piracy, or to nothing at all, and UKMTO routinely treats such reports as suspicious activity until they are resolved.
The agency did not link the incident to any armed group.
The waters east of Aden lie at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, outside the Bab al-Mandab strait. Ships bound for the Red Sea and the Suez Canal pass through them.
Maritime security reporting has described a resurgence of piracy off Yemen and Somalia this year, with separate accounts of cargo vessels approached by unidentified skiffs.
Shipping in the corridor has also come under repeated attack.
Human Rights Watch said this week that recent Houthi attacks on commercial ships likely amount to war crimes. The Houthis reject that characterisation and say their operations are lawful and aimed at specific vessels.
The UN Security Council met on Monday, at France’s request, to discuss Houthi control of Bab al-Mandab.
Houthi forces said they had taken the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands in the southern Red Sea this week as government forces pulled back. Yemen’s internationally recognised government has disputed elements of that account.
Houthi fighters reached Mayyun Island, at the mouth of the strait, earlier this month.
Greece condemned Houthi attacks on shipping this month and called for the protection of navigation in the Red Sea.
Brent crude traded above $108 a barrel this week. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline remains shut, and Houthi forces hold positions along Bab al-Mandab.
The Strait of Hormuz has been closed to most traffic since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes in February, according to The National.
Yemen’s government has asked foreign partners to help rebuild its coast guard and navy. Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba raised the request with Japan this month.
Yemen’s foreign ministry has separately asked the Security Council to take a firm position on Houthi operations at sea.
The fighting on land has displaced large numbers of people. The International Organization for Migration said 85,818 people have fled the fighting in Yemen, and that more than 2,000 of them have reached Djibouti.
The UN refugee agency has appealed for $14 million for Yemen, saying a camp in Djibouti is nearing capacity.
United States diplomats met Houthi representatives in Muscat, Reuters and Axios reported this week.
President Donald Trump said the Houthis had asked the United States not to intervene, and said he had declined a Saudi request for strikes.
Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, said government forces could regain the initiative on the western coast.
Yemen’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, Mohammed al-Hadhrami, asked Prague and the European Union to designate the Houthis as a terrorist group.
Spain condemned Houthi attacks on Yemeni government forces and on Saudi sites this month.
The Houthis said they fired missiles and drones at King Khalid Air Base in Saudi Arabia. They also said they struck a Saudi base at Sharurah.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Aug. 7. It provides that an armed attack on one member is to be treated as an attack on all.
Reuters reported that China privately asked Iranian officials to help rein in the Houthis after Saudi Arabia appealed to Beijing. China publicly called for restraint, dialogue and the restoration of safe navigation.
Gulf and Iranian foreign ministers postponed talks in Oman on the Strait of Hormuz, the state news agency Saba reported.
Yemen told a conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency that Houthi escalation threatens shipping through Bab al-Mandab.
Al-Zouba also discussed Red Sea and Gulf of Aden security with Tunisia’s foreign minister, Mohamed Ali Nafti, this month.
Yemen’s civil aviation authority denied reports that airports in the country had closed.
UKMTO advises masters transiting the Gulf of Aden to report suspicious approaches and to follow industry counter-piracy guidance.
The agency did not say where the tanker was bound, or whether it continued its voyage.
The agency did not say whether any naval vessel responded to Thursday’s report.
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