Bulker Exchanges Shots with Skiffs off Yemen

A bulker southbound in the Red Sea reported to authorities that it had been approached and exchanged gunshots with the unknown boats. The ship is safe and continuing on its way while analysts speculate over the events.

The Barbados-flagged vessel Bobik (31,896 dwt) reported the incident to UK Maritime Trade Operations early on December 5. The vessel is Turkish-owned and reports coming from Georgia after having made a port call in Ukraine. The ship was built in 2006 and is 175.5 meters (576 feet) in length.

The vessel was taking precautions by carrying armed security guards aboard. It had posted a warning on its AIS. It later changed the message on the AIS to read “Chinese crew.”

The first report said the vessel had been approached by as many as 15 skiffs while it was 15 nautical miles west of Yemen near the Bab al-Mandeb strait. UKMTO reports the captain said some of the small boats had come within approximately 500 to 1,000 feet of the bulker. The armed security guards fired on the boats, and the ship altered course.

The small boats moved away from the bulker, but reports are saying that at least several of the boats circled back and again approached the vessel. The Bobik has continued on its course, and the crew remains on alert.

Joshua Hutchinson, Global Maritime Risk Management Leader at Ambrey, posted a video of the incident online. He writes, “It is unlikely that this was the Houthis; maybe the PAG is trying new locations and tactics over the coming weeks.” Other speculation has been about fishing boats that regularly operate in the area.

The Houthi militants had frequented the area, sometimes identifying as the Yemeni Coast Guard and harassing and attacking vessels. The militants, however, earlier this year said they had suspended their “blockade” after the peace deal for Gaza.

The shipping industry has been cautiously looking at returning more vessels to the Red Sea routes. Several executives, however, have said it would be a slow process, and they would have to be certain of the security and the safety of their crews before they would resume transits of the Red Sea.