Armed men tried to board a U.S. container ship anchored in the bay of Port-au-Prince on the night of October 10 to 11, but the Haitian Coast Guard drove them off, the news site HaitiLibre reported.

The assailants approached the MV National Glory in a small boat and opened fire when the Coast Guard responded to the captain's alert, said Divisional Commissioner Jean Pedro Mars, head of the Coast Guard.

Wilfrid Fleursaint, coordinator of Haiti's maritime and navigation service, said all crew members were unharmed and that the ship was able to continue its operations.

The bay is a vital route for the fuel, food and goods that supply the capital, and gangs on the coast have repeatedly attacked or extorted boats crossing it. The Coast Guard has fought several maritime clashes with suspected gang members in the past year.