Maritime security sources reported that armed assailants are believed to have boarded the chemical tanker Asana off Yemen’s southern coast in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, with the attackers reportedly taking control of the vessel.
Based on initial assessments, the incident appeared to be related to Somali piracy rather than Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia, one of the maritime security sources said.
Attempted attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden have risen in recent weeks, adding to concerns over safety in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz on the other side, boosting risks for critical energy shipments from the region to buyers in Asia.
The small tanker, which had no confirmed flag, had listed the Somali port of Bosaso as its next destination, ship tracking data showed.
Efforts were under way to assist the Asana tanker and determine the circumstances of what happened, said an official with the European Union’s Aspides naval mission, which is active in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region.
A South Korean warship was in the area, the official told Reuters.
"Details regarding the number of assailants, the circumstances of the boarding, and the status of the vessel and crew remain unclear," British maritime risk management group Vanguard said.
The vessel issued a distress call at around 0620 GMT on Friday and did not have an armed security team when the incident occurred, British maritime security group Ambrey said, adding that the assailants were suspected to be part of a pirate action group.
The vessel's operator was listed in shipping databases as Marshall Islands-based Exon Energy, which could not be reached for comment.
Armed men suspected of being part of a pirate group boarded the Asana tanker on Friday and had taken complete control of it, according to a department linked with Yemen’s internationally recognised government in Aden.
"The incident bears clear indications of an act of piracy aimed at detaining the ship and its crew for ransom," the Regional Maritime Information Exchange Center, which is linked to Yemen’s transport ministry, said in a report.
"The vessel remains under the complete control of the armed men, while regional and international efforts continue to ascertain the status and safety of the crew members through appropriate maritime and intelligence channels."
At least three incidents have taken place since June off Yemen's coast involving attempted boarding by armed assailants, according to analysis from Vanguard and the ICC International Maritime Bureau piracy watchdog.
Two of the attempts took place near Yemen's southern coast. A third incident took place on July 5 near the northern Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, an area under the control of Yemen's Houthis, Vanguard said.
In that incident armed assailants in fast skiffs opened fire on a dry bulk ship as it sailed from Hodeidah.
The Palau-flagged oil products tanker Honour 25 was seized on April 21 approximately 30 nautical miles off Somalia's Puntland region with 17 crew members aboard.
In the period from January to the end of June, nine incidents were recorded including four ships hijacked in waters off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden versus three in the same period in 2025, ICC International Maritime Bureau data showed.
HOUTHI TENSIONS
Since the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran began on February 28, local authorities in Somaliland and Puntland have been monitoring for any signs that the Houthis might transfer advanced weapons systems or maritime tactics to the region, security sources in the Horn of Africa said.
Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthis to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure, sources told Reuters on Thursday, posing a potent new threat to global energy supplies.
A vessel was boarded by unauthorised personnel while transiting east in the Gulf of Aden, 65 nautical miles south of Yemen's Al Mukalla port, the British navy agency UKMTO said earlier on Friday.
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