Theincident took place in location 04° 39'N, 052° 19'E about 230 miles east ofHobyo, according to the IMB piracy reporting centre.
Eightarmed men in two ‘skiffs’ are said to have approached the as yet unnamed tankerat around 09:26 local time.
TheIMB says the ship’s master raised the alarm, sounded the ship’s whistle andincreased speed while the crew mustered
Theon board armed security team took their position and fired warning rocketflares as the skiffs closed to a distance of 3nm and then 2nm.
“Theskiffs ignored the warning flares and continued their approach. As one skiffclosed to a distance of 400 metres and the armed team fired a warning shot.This was also ignored by the pirates who continued to approach,” the IMB said.
“Whena second warning shot was fired at a distance of 250 meters the skiff stoppedand returned fire with an automatic weapon.”
Thearmed team are then said to have retaliated resulting in the skiffs “abortingthe attack and moving away”.
TheMaritime Security Centre (Horn of Africa), based at the EU Naval ForceOperations Centre, Northwood, UK, has issued an alert about the whereabouts andnature of the attack, to warn other ships transiting the area to be vigilant.
“Theattack demonstrates that there is still a clear and present danger from piratesoff the Somali coast,” said Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant, Operation Commander ofthe EU Naval Force.
“Itis crucial that naval counter-piracy forces maintain pressure on thesecriminals and that the maritime industry remains vigilant, taking appropriateprecautions to deter an attack.”
Unconfirmedreports emerged last week that the Iranian navy was involved in an incidentinvolving an Iranian tanker in the Gulf of Aden on 6 October.
According to Iraniannews sources, the tanker came under two separate attacks before Iranian navalforces directed gunfire at the attackers, forcing them to retreat.
