Five missing as Russian yacht lost near Yemen

Russian owner of ship says he believes pirates have seized it

US Fifth Fleet ships in the Middle East to promote maritime security in the region. Photo: US Army

Three Russians and two Egyptians are missing after the yacht they were sailing in, the 30 Minutes, went missing in the Red Sea, reportedly near the coast of Yemen.

The Russian embassy in Saudi Arabia raised concerns for the crew.

Pirates from Somalia have terrorised shipping routes in the Red Sea for years, but their numbers and attacks were reduced sharply by a multinational naval operation to protect shipping, known as Combined Task Force 153, currently led by Egypt. A European naval task force, Operation Atalanta, has supported the effort.

The EU naval force said it was aware of an incident involving the yacht and was investigating, as did the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

The owner of the 30 Minutes said the vessel was en route to Djibouti. From there, it was going to be transported by ship to Dubai.

Dmitriy Chuguevskiy told AP that he believed the vessel had been attacked by pirates, and said the yacht attempted to make a distress call.

He said he had tracked the last-known location of the 18-metre yacht to an island near Jazan, Saudi Arabia, about 70km from Houthi-controlled North Yemen.

The Russian embassy in Saudi Arabia said it was working with the Saudis to determine what had happened.

“In co-operation with the Saudi authorities, we continue to take all necessary actions to clarify the fate of the missing ship, as well as to provide prompt assistance to Russian citizens on board,” it said.