Maritime Trade Operations Center: Armed men seize control of a tanker in the Gulf of Aden and take it towards Somalia

The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) said on Thursday that a tanker in the Gulf of Aden had 6 armed people on board and was being driven towards Somalia.

The center, affiliated with the British Royal Navy, which monitors the security of maritime navigation in the region, reported earlier, Thursday, that a ship issued a distress call after an “unauthorized ship” approached it, 136 nautical miles, or about 156 miles, east of the coastal city of Mukalla in Yemen.

In a later update, the Maritime Center said it had received confirmation that six armed people had boarded the tanker and were now “taking control of the ship and taking it towards Somalia.”

The center did not specify the names of the ships involved, nor did it mention the party behind the hijacking, but it is known that Somali pirates benefit from the war with Iran, as commercial ships, which avoid conflict routes and take longer routes around Africa, enter the scope of their operations.

Clashes have also escalated in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in recent weeks, after the Iran-backed Houthis announced a blockade on ships coming from Saudi Arabia, the main backer of Yemeni government forces.

On Wednesday, the group claimed to have targeted eight Saudi oil tankers since late July, when the blockade was announced, including three tankers in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, according to the Houthi-run Saba news agency.