LONDON, August 21. /TASS/. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Coordination Center reported a new attack by unknown people on a vessel off the coast of Yemen.
This time the attack targeted a merchant vessel 57 nautical miles (106 kilometers) south of Aden, the UKMTO said in a statement, Reuters reported. The captain reported two explosions near the vessel, whose name was not provided. The crew is safe and the ship continues its voyage toward the port of destination, the UKMTO said.
This is the second such incident so far on Wednesday. Earlier, unidentified men in two boats attacked the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion. The attack took place 77 nautical miles (142 kilometers) west of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah. According to the UK coordination center, the vessel was hit by four unidentified shells and went out of control.
The Greek company Delta Tankers, which owns the tanker, confirmed to TASS that the vessel was in a drift.
"The vessel has sustained minor damage. The vessel is now lying adrift while the crew assesses the damage before the vessel continues its journey," the company said. Delta Tankers added that the tanker's crew is safe. According to Greek news media, there 23 Filipino and two Russian crewmembers onboard the Sounion.