Pirates and smugglers, off the coast of Yemen, April 7, 2023

In addition to many fishing boats, we also encountered dubious boats. This time off the coast of Yemen, it was not jet skis that suddenly appeared, but rather two fishing boats pulling three or four narrow, heavily motorized boats.

Around our ship, there are still watch posts with water and sound cannons. According to the ship's crew, however, these were more likely smugglers (cigarettes, drugs, people). With the small boats, they can also transport their 'goods' to shallow places on land. The type of boats also corresponds to those they use to board ships. However, this hardly happens anymore, as the risk-reward ratio is apparently much better with smuggling.