Armed assailants boarded the chemical tanker Asana while it was transiting the Gulf of Aden off southern Yemen, according to maritime security reports.
The vessel issued a distress call at around 06:20 GMT on Friday after unauthorized personnel boarded about 65 nautical miles south of Al Mukalla. The UK Maritime Trade Operations received a report of the incident while Asana was sailing east.
The number of assailants, the circumstances of the boarding and the condition of the crew remained unclear. Vanguard said the status of the vessel and those on board had not been established.
A maritime information centre linked to Yemen’s internationally recognized government reported that the armed group had taken control of Asana. It assessed that the incident showed signs of a piracy operation intended to detain the ship and crew for ransom.
Initial security assessments pointed to suspected Somali piracy rather than an operation linked to Yemen’s Houthi movement. Ambrey said the vessel had no armed security team on board and assessed that the assailants could be part of a pirate action group.
An official from the European Union’s Aspides naval mission said efforts were being made to support the tanker and clarify the circumstances of the boarding. The official also reported that a South Korean warship was in the area.
Ambrey separately said a South Korean naval vessel was heading toward the incident site in response to the distress signal. South Korea’s Cheonghae Unit 48th rotation, the ROKS Wang Geon, is deployed in the Gulf of Aden. However, it has not been officially confirmed that this was the ship responding or that a South Korean naval vessel reached the scene.
Shipping databases listed Marshall Islands-based Exon Energy as the operator of Asana, although the company could not be reached for comment. Ship-tracking information showed Bosaso in Somalia as the tanker’s next destination, while its flag status was not confirmed.
At least three incidents involving armed assailants have been reported off Yemen since June. Separate industry data recorded nine incidents in waters off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden between January and the end of June, including four vessel hijackings, compared with three incidents during the same period in 2025.
The boarding comes as piracy concerns in the Gulf of Aden coincide with separate security tensions affecting the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
