▶ Crew lay on the deck while four men fired at the boat’s engines in international water Fishermen attacked by armed pirates off the coast of Fujairah

A fleet of Emirati fishing boats was fired upon by pirates while sailing in the Gulf of Oman, according to the crews.

One captain and his crew showed photos and video footage of one of their engines riddled with bullets after the encounter, at about 12.30pm on Tuesday.

“They appeared from nowhere and told us to go back and immediately started shooting at our boat,” Emirati fisherman Yousef Baroun, 52, told

Mr Baroun said the fleet was about 90 kilometres off the coast of Fujairah and was in international waters. “We tried to escape but they managed to shoot our engines and damaged them,” he said. “We laid down on the floor to avoid the gunshots and then another boat came to rescue us.”

Mr Baroun described four pirates on a boat without a flag and said the guns used appeared to be Kalashnikov AK-47-style assault rifles. He said he was not sure of the pirates’ nationality. His fleet was searching for tuna at the time.

“We always fish here and this is the first time such an incident has happened,” Mr Baroun said. “They could have killed us and they should be caught and punished for what they did.”

“I lost two engines. It will cost me around Dh90,000 to buy new ones. Thank God we are safe but this is the only source of living I have now and this will affect not only me but also my family.”

Another Emirati captain and his crew of three also came close to the boat with the four armed pirates.

“They had a fast boat and had guns. They came from the side and warned us by raising their guns,” said Abdullah Al Ali, 42.

“I tried to sail the boat to get away from them but they were faster than me so I ordered my men to lay down in order not to get shot. They kept chasing us and fired gunshots in the air.”

Mr Al Ali assumed the men were smugglers and that his fleet had disturbed them.

“We always fish there when it’s tuna season and this is the first time we’ve been exposed to something like this. International waters are for everybody and no one can prevent us from fishing there,” he said.

Mr Al Ali said that he towed Mr Baroun’s damaged boat back to Fujairah.

“After they left the area we went back to check on Yousef and his crew. Thank God they were safe.”

Mahmoud Al Sharaa, head of the Fujairah Fishermen’s Association, said crews were advised to fish within UAE waters – within 12 nautical miles (22km) of the shore.

“It could have been a tragic incident but we can’t prevent them from fishing there. It’s not our call,” Mr Al Sharaa said. “But we always advise them to stay within the UAE waters. Such incidents rarely happen and we hope there will not be a repeat.”

Piracy incidents in the Gulf of Oman are relatively rare, although there were reports of hijacking attempts in 2011.