Incident: Tanker attacked

A tanker, not otherwise identified, is attacked in the Gulf of Aden by three "speed boats" bearing men with "machine guns" who fired on the tanker. The attack is abandoned after five minutes.

The master conducted evasive maneuvers, and coalition forces were contacted. The first speed boat approached until it was at a distance of 1-2 meters on the starboard quarter, and fired five or six times. The boat had a blue hull, with five men onboard, dressed in dark raincoats. A "machinegun" was spotted on the forward part of the boat. After five minutes, they aborted the attack. The other two boats ahead began moving toward the vessel with a speed of only 6 kts, so the vessel was able to alter its course to avoid contact. There were no injuries to the crew and no damage to the vessel.

(ONI Worldwide Threat to Shipping, 01/08/09)