The Yemeni Coast Guard was unable to respond to a pirate attack on a British oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, amid the ongoing power struggle in southern Yemen between the internationally recognized government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC). 

The Aden-based Coast Guard has been largely out of operation since the STC unilaterally took over administration of the interim capital and surrounding governorates at the end of April, a Coast Guard official told Almasdar Online. 

In a statement issued on Monday, the Saudi-led coalition blamed the STC for not allowing Yemen’s Coast Guard to carry out its duties. 

Reuters quoted the UK's Maritime Commercial Operations Centre as saying the ship, known as the Stolt Apal, had been attacked off the port of Mukalla on Sunday at 12:30 GMT by six pirates in two speedboats.

“After multiple warning shots were fired by the armed guard team aboard Stolt Apal, the skiffs opened fire on the ship. The armed guard team returned fire, disabling one skiff and ending the pursuit,” Stolt Tankers, the company that manages the targeted tanker, told Reuters.

“The bridge area sustained minor damage from bullets but there were no injuries, no pollution and no cargo impacted on Stolt Apal. A coalition warship responded and Stolt Apal has resumed her voyage.”

The attack on the ship on Sunday was the ninth reported incident in the Gulf of Aden this year, according to the global risk agency Dryad, as cited by Reuters. 

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Editing by Ahlam Mohsen and Casey Coombs