Rapid Alerts

EASTERN PACIFIC — U.S. Marines and Sailors launched from the amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio (LPD 17) boarded, searched, and cleared a vessel in international waters on August 28, then sank it after removing those aboard, U.S. Southern Command said.

The command stated that U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, directed the action. Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) carried it out with the Government of Ecuador, SOUTHCOM said.

EUROPE — After CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Russian intelligence officials in Moscow on August 25, Washington and Moscow both said in public that NATO territory is not a Russian target.

The White House, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Kremlin, and the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) have issued no readout of what was said.

SOUTHERN BORDER — On August 27 U.S. Southern Command reported that Joint Task Force-Southern Border personnel used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) during the late-night hours of August 25 and 26 against three unmanned aircraft the command called hostile and cartel-linked.

The weapon is a directed-energy system. It burns or disables a target with a focused beam rather than a missile.

GULF OF OMAN — The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center issued Warning 120-26 after the master of an oil tanker reported the ship struck by an unknown projectile 9 nautical miles (10 miles, 17 kilometers) northeast of Ash Shishah, Oman.

UKMTO logged the report at 8:25 p.m. UTC on August 24 and classified the event as an attack. The master said the projectile damaged the engine room and left the tanker unable to proceed. UKMTO said the crew was reported safe and that environmental impact was unknown in the initial warning.

EASTERN PACIFIC — On August 23, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere carried out a strike on a low-profile vessel operating along routes SOUTHCOM described as established narco-trafficking routes, according to U.S. Southern Command.

U.S. Southern Command released the details at 5:21 AM UTC on August 24. The strike was carried out under the direction of SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan.

YANBU, SAUDI ARABIA — A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile 63 nautical miles west of Yanbu on August 24, producing a fire on the main deck.

All crew members were accounted for and safe. No environmental impact was reported. Vessels were advised to transit the area with caution and report any suspicious activity.

INDIA — The Indian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Sri Vijaya Puram received information at 6:18 a.m. UTC on August 22 that communication had been lost with the Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Ocean Winner, IMO 9145530, and that the vessel sank in the Bay of Bengal.

Commandant Amit Uniyal, an Indian Coast Guard spokesperson, stated the ship carried 24 crew members consisting of 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi national, plus a cargo of iron ore.

TOKYO — On August 20, following North Korea’s ballistic missile launch, Deputy Director-General Ariyoshi of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a trilateral phone meeting with Baek Yong-jin, Director-General for Korean Peninsula Policy at South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, and David Wilezol, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of State.

The Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs placed the call on Friday, August 21. The three officials shared relevant information and discussed future responses.

GULF OF ADEN — Six armed persons boarded the tanker Seamull, also known as SIBU 1, 136 nautical miles east of Al Mukalla, Yemen, and redirected the vessel toward Somalia.

The tanker broadcasted a distress call on VHF 16 after an unauthorized vessel approached while the ship traveled west in the Gulf of Aden. Authorities are investigating.

WASHINGTON, The National Security Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Energy, and Environmental Protection Agency released joint Cybersecurity Advisory AA26-231A on August 19, warning of an active cyber threat to Siemens S7 Series programmable logic controllers (PLCs).

The authoring agencies state that threat actors are conducting reconnaissance and capability development against U.S.-based Siemens PLC installations. Actors use Internet scanning services to locate Internet-exposed or poorly protected devices running outdated software.