The Yemen coast guard announced that a tanker has fallen into the hands of unidentified gunmen off the province of Shabua, Reuters reported.

It was reported that the M/T Eureka was boarded by drastis, who took control and steered it towards the Bay of Aden, heading for the waters of Somalia.

Yemeni authorities said the ship’s position has been located. Meanwhile, operations are underway to locate, recover the vessel and safety of the crew.

Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Transport Operations Office (UKMTO) had recorded suspicious activity near the port of Mukala.

According to the same source, a tanker reported an approach by a small vessel escorted by a alien vessel, approximately 84 nautical miles southwest of Mukalla, off the southern coast of Yemen.

It remains unknown at this time whether the incident recorded by UKMTO is linked to the seizure of the M/T Eureka.