The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has advised vessels sailing south of Somalia to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.
This came as UKMTO received on Tuesday a report of suspicious activity in the region. Local authorities, according to UKMTO, report engaging with two dhows, acting suspiciously. One dhow has been seized by the authorities. The second dhow has evaded capture and remains un-located until UKMTO issued its update. Authorities will continue to investigate.
More than a week ago UKMTO has received a report of an incident east of Aden. A vessel has been hit by an unknown projectile, resulting with a fire.
Following UKMTO report it turned out that the vessel was a Cameroonian-flagged ship which caught fire after possibly being struck by a projectile. Officials said, with at least one mariner missing and another was still likely aboard the burning tanker after the rest of the crew abandoned the vessel.