Australian-flagged yacht shoots at Yemen coast guard it 'mistook for pirates'
Personnel aboard the yacht reportedly mistook the Yemeni coast guard for pirates, while the British navy said the incident was the result of "government activity" without elaborating further.
A shootout occurred off the coast of Yemen on Friday between a luxury yacht and Yemeni coast guard.
The Associated Press reported that guards aboard the luxury yacht Kalizma opened fire on members of the Yemeni coast guard after mistaking them for pirates.
The Kalizma, a famous superyacht, was once owned by Welsh actor Richard Burton. It currently flies the flag of Australia and was last detected near Sydney in November of last year, according to the shipping website MarineTraffic.
Why the Kalizma was near Yemen and what exactly happened with regard to the shooting is unclear. The United Kingdom’s Maritime Trade Operations initially said it received a report that shots were fired in an attack on an unspecified vessel 18 nautical miles south of Nishtun in the Arabia Sea, near the Gulf of Aden. The shooters were aboard three boats, each with three to four people on board.
