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Saudi defence ministry statement on state media did not say
whether there had been any damage as a result of the operation
by the Saudi navy to intercept and destroy the remote-controlled
boat.
Security firm Dryad Global had earlier said it received
"unconfirmed reports" that a vessel, possibly the oil tanker NCC
Dammam owned by a unit of Saudi firm Bahri, had been attacked
off Yanbu.
Chief executive Abdullah Aldubaikhi told Reuters that no vessels
owned by National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) had
been attacked.
British maritime security company Ambry also cited reports of an
incident and said smoke was seen rising from a vessel. United
Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it was aware of
reports of an incident approximately 2 nautical miles from Yanbu
and that investigations were ongoing.
Vessels have previously come under attack in Red Sea waters.
In December, Saudi Arabia said a tanker anchored at the Jeddah
port was hit by an explosive-laden boat. This followed a
separate incident at another Saudi terminal on the Red Sea where
a tanker was damaged by an explosion.
A Saudi Arabian-led military coalition engaged in Yemen has in
the past foiled attempted assaults using explosive-laden boats
it says are launched by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
The Saudi defence ministry said it was investigating who was
behind Tuesday's "hostile attempt".
(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli and Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai and
Jonathan Saul in London; editing by Jason Neely and Giles Elgood)
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