For the second day in a row, a commercial tanker reported a tense maritime encounter near one of the world’s most critical shipping routes. According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a products tanker transiting 200 nautical miles west of Yemen’s Socotra Island was approached by a small craft carrying five individuals. The vessel reportedly closed to within 100 metres before the tanker’s armed security team was deployed, prompting the small craft to alter course and leave the area.