A small boat carrying 10 to 12 people, including around five armed with light weapons, approached and attempted to board a sailing vessel 54 nautical miles southwest of Hudaydah (a Red Sea port city in western Yemen), the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported on Sunday. The crew of the approaching boat demanded the vessel stop, and when the captain refused, they moved to board it before being driven off by a warning flare. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident, which is under investigation, though attacks in the area are commonly linked to the Houthis (the Iran-aligned armed movement that controls much of Yemen's west coast), who have recently deployed drone launch platforms and missile batteries along the Hudaydah coastline amid rising regional tensions.