Unauthorised persons attempted to board a ship off Somalia, according to a British government agency monitoring maritime security in the region.

The master reported the incident 332 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, where four persons tried to board a ship early on Monday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said in a social media post on Monday.

“The small craft came from a mothership approximately 5 nautical miles to the east of his vessel,” the agency said.

“The small craft returned to the mother vessel after it was challenged by the vessel.”

The waters off Somalia have long been associated with piracy incidents, where pirates target commercial ships transiting the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean.

UKMTO has advised ships in the area to transit the waters with caution.