Japanese tanker fired on near Yemen coast

TOKYO, April 21 (Reuters) - A Japanese oil tanker was fired on in the Gulf of Aden, off Yemen on Monday, owner Nippon Yusen KK (9101.T) said, with Japanese media reporting the ship was hit by a rocket in the pirate-infested region.

None of the 23 crew on board the Takayama were injured and the tanker was capable of continuing its voyage, Nippon Yusen spokesman Satoshi Yokoyama said.

Ships are regularly attacked off Yemen, with pirates blamed for 31 cases of piracy recorded by maritime authorities last year in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and Somalia.

Japan's Kyodo news reported a small unidentified vessel fired a rocket at the 150,053-ton ship, damaging the stern and causing fuel to leak.

The empty oil tanker was on its way from South Korea to load at a port in Saudi Arabia, said Nippon Yusen, Japan's biggest ocean shipping firm.

Fighting between rebels and Yemen's U.S.-allied government has been raging on and off since 2004. The country, which is seen in the West as a haven for al Qaeda militants, witnesses frequent attacks on oil installations, government and military compounds, foreign tourists, embassies and ships.

Located on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, it is one of the poorest countries outside of Africa. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Rodney Joyce)