A Hong Kong-flagged sailboat is reported to have come under attack on Thursday off the coast of war-torn Yemen, though the circumstances of the incident remained unclear, reports the Jerusalem Post.
Sailboat under attack
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations group said the attack happened off Hodeida, a contested port city that has been a flashpoint in Yemen’s yearslong civil war. It said an investigation was ongoing into the incident, without elaborating.
Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, told The Associated Press that the vessel involved was the Lakota, a 62-foot (19-meter) sailboat flagged out of Hong Kong. Dryad said that those on board were sailing into international water and were reportedly safe.
It wasn’t immediately clear who owned the vessel or how many people were on board at the time of the incident. Satellite-tracking data from MarineTraffic.com analyzed by the AP showed the Lakota just west of the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea between Eritrea on the African continent and Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula.
A very strange occurrence!
The vessel had been in Djibouti before sailing close to Yemen’s coast. The vessel also had not turned on its Automatic Identification System tracker, which Dryad described as “very strange,” given that the Red Sea is a major international shipping route. “Several attempts were made to board her,” Dryad said. “Reports indicate she managed to get away.”
The U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet said it was aware of the attack, but declined to immediately comment further.
The incident marked the latest at-sea attack amid the war. In January, the Houthis seized the Emirati ship Rwabee. The Houthis described the vessel as carrying military weapons, while the Saudi-led coalition described it as carrying disassembled hospital equipment.
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe
Source: The Jerusalem Post
