The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority said today (Sunday) that it had received a report of a boat with five individuals on board, including armed men, approaching a ship 70 nautical miles northwest of Bosaso in Somalia.

The authority stated, in a statement, that “the armed security team fired two warning shots and the boat moved away,” adding that all the ship’s crew were safe and continued on their way toward their destination, according to the Arab World News Agency.

The Gulf of Aden and the southern Red Sea are witnessing escalating tension affecting freedom of navigation, as Somali pirates launch attacks targeting ships passing through that region, while Houthi attacks since last November 19 have reached about 34 attacks.

The Iranian-backed group says that it is launching attacks to prevent the navigation of Israeli ships heading to and from Tel Aviv ports, before adding American and British ships to the list, and that stopping the attacks depends on stopping the war on the Gaza Strip.