Yemen’s Coast Guard has said that it is attempting to recover an oil tanker that was hijacked off the coast and is now heading towards Somalia.
According to Al Jazeera, the coastguard said in a statement on Saturday, May 2 said that the “M/T Eureka” was seized off Yemen’s southeastern Shabwa province as armed assailants boarded and took control of the vessel.
The hijackers then steered the tanker to the Gulf of Aden towards the Somali coast.
The attack is at least the fourth to take place near Somalia in recent weeks, with pirate activity in the area on the rise in an apparent reaction to the war in Iran.
Officials say pirates have become emboldened as naval forces patrolling the Red Sea area are distracted by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and civilian maritime routes diverted.
The coastguard said that it was working with international partners and relevant authorities in the Gulf of Aden to recover the tanker and ensure the safety of the crew, whose fate remains unknown.
It cautioned, however, that its capabilities are limited due to Yemen’s dire economic situation.
Ship hijackings off the Somali coast have become more frequent since the US and Israel began their war on Iran in February.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has raised the piracy threat level along the Somali coast to “substantial” and warned vessels to “transit with caution”.
The European Union’s naval forces patrolling the region said that the Iran war has given piracy groups a “window of opportunity.”
