Yacht with 3 Russians، 2 Egyptians goes missing Off Yemen، reports say
A yacht carrying three Russians and two Egyptians reportedly went missing days ago off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea. Its owner alleged on Monday that armed pirates took the vessel.
The 19-meter (62-foot) boat 30 Minutes، which belonged to a Russian living in Dubai and was registered in Panama، is said to have vanished while other ships have come under attack from Yemen's Houthi rebels، who are backed by Iran and responsible for the conflict destroying the poorest country in the Arab world.
The Houthis did not immediately admit capturing the vessel، and little is known about it.
The 30 Minutes' owner، Dmitriy Chuguevskiy، informed The Associated Press that the vessel was last detected off Farasan Island near Jazan، Saudi Arabia، on April 19. The vessel suddenly vanished، failing to arrive in Djibouti as planned، according to him.
Chuguevskiy said the ship did not carry an Automatic Identification System transponder، which is standard for ships moving through dangerous or busy waterways
In a statement published on Sunday، the Russian Embassy in Saudi Arabia stated that "radio contact was lost with the ship."
The Russian embassy said: "We continue to take all necessary steps in cooperation with the Saudi authorities to clarify the fate of the missing ship and to promptly assist Russian citizens on board."
Chuguevskiy، however، said that the Egyptian skipper of the 30 Minutes had been able to send out a distress signal that the Saudi authorities had picked up، claiming that the ship was being attacked by armed pirates.
Our presumption is that they were abducted، said Chuguevskiy.
It remains to be seen what action، if any، Saudi officials took after the claimed distress call. The Saudi government did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations، a British military watch over Mideast shipping، said its staff had been “made aware of an incident in the area and are carrying out (an) investigation.” A European Union anti-piracy patrol in the region، called Operation Atalanta، said it was “monitoring the situation in order to clarify the event due to the lack of reliable information about it.”
Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins، a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet، told the AP that it too was aware of the “reporting suggesting the vessel is missing and are now looking into the situation."
“U.S. 5th Fleet did not receive a distress call from this vessel،” Hawkins said.
The Houthis have carried out other at-sea attacks amid Yemen's long war. In January 2022، the Houthis seized the Emirati ship Rwabee. The Houthis described the vessel as carrying military weapons، while the Saudi-led coalition described it as carrying disassembled hospital equipment. The ship and its Indian crew were later released.
In May، the Lakota، a 62-foot (19-meter) trimaran purchased by famed French yachtsman Philippe Poupon، found itself attacked off the coast of Hodeida، Yemen. Militants fired some 20 warning shots and displayed assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. One briefly boarded the ship before fleeing.
A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthis since March 2015. However، a recent prisoner swap has raised hopes of a formal armistice between them.