UK warns Gulf of Aden skiffs

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on May 23 it had received reports from various sources of suspicious activity in the Gulf of Aden, after multiple vessels were approached by skiffs near a main shipping corridor into the Red Sea. UKMTO said a large skiff with two outboard engines had been seen carrying ladders and weapons, an image that immediately raised concern for ship operators already navigating a route strained by months of conflict-linked disruption. The latest alert did not describe a confirmed hijacking or boarding, but UKMTO’s own incident log shows at least two recent encounters near Socotra involving small craft closing on commercial tankers. On May 22, a products tanker reported that a small craft with five people came within 100 meters about 200 nautical miles west of Socotra before the vessel’s armed security team deployed and the craft altered course away, UKMTO said. (english.alarabiya.net) On May 21, another tanker north of Socotra reported that warning shots forced a similar craft to turn away. ### Why are skiffs near Socotra drawing attention now? Socotra sits near the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor used by ships moving between the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. UKMTO’s May 22 notice placed one of the incidents within that corridor, making the encounters more significant for merchant traffic than an isolated report in open water would be. (ukmto.org) UKMTO’s broader advisory dated May 14 said it had received 49 incident reports affecting vessels in and around the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman between Feb. 28 and May 22. That tally included 27 attack reports, 20 suspicious-activity reports and two hijacks, according to the agency. ### What exactly did the British warning say? UKMTO said there had been “multiple reports” of vessels being approached by skiffs in the Gulf of Aden. (ukmto.org) The agency added that one large skiff had been observed carrying both ladders and weapons, and it advised vessels to transit with caution and report suspicious activity while authorities investigated. The May 21 and May 22 incident reports add detail to that warning. In both cases, the reporting vessels were tankers, and in both cases armed security teams were involved before the small craft moved away. ### How does this connect to oil and shipping costs? Brent crude was at $116.73 a barrel in the latest daily FRED reading for May 18, based on U.S. Energy Information Administration data published through the St. (english.alarabiya.net) Louis Fed. That level underscores how sensitive energy prices remain to threats around Middle East sea lanes, even though the UKMTO warning itself did not directly tie the skiff reports to oil markets. (ukmto.org) Law firm Gibson Dunn said in a March 4 client alert that freight forwarders and logistics providers were already warning of rerouting, suspended services, tighter capacity and higher costs as conflict in the Gulf disrupted shipping and insurance conditions. The firm said those pressures were spreading beyond immediate maritime risk into broader supply chains. (fred.stlouisfed.org) ### What are Gulf states doing to keep cargo moving? Saudi Ports Authority Mawani launched a new shipping service on May 21 linking Jeddah, Salalah and Djibouti, Saudi state TV reported. Reuters, citing the state television report, said the service has capacity for 1,730 standard containers and is intended to strengthen maritime connectivity between the kingdom and global ports. (gibsondunn.com) Mawani also launched the “Red Sea Express” service earlier the same week, linking Jeddah, Yanbu, Ain Sokhna and Aqaba with capacity of 1,100 standard containers, according to the same report. Those additions give shippers more routing options as operators weigh security exposure against schedule reliability. (english.alarabiya.net) ### What should ship operators watch next? UKMTO’s next public signals are likely to come through additional incident notices if vessels report more approaches in or near the transit corridor west and north of Socotra. The agency’s recent notices on May 21, May 22 and May 23 show that reporting is moving on a near-daily basis when suspicious activity is detected. (english.alarabiya.net) May 28 is the next scheduled release date for the Brent series carried by FRED from U.S. Energy Information Administration data, and shipowners will also be watching whether Mawani adds more Red Sea services after its May 21 launches. (fred.stlouisfed.org) (ukmto.org)