The Houthis of Yemen claimed that they launched a drone strike against the MSC Orion container ship in the Indian Ocean as part of their continuous campaign against foreign shipping in support of the Palestinian people’s resistance to Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Portugal-registered Zodiac Maritime is the registered owner of MSC Orion, which was sailing between the ports of Sines, Portugal, and Salalah, Oman, according to LSEG data.
Eyal Ofer, an Israeli businessman, owns a portion of Zodiac. A request for comment was not immediately answered by the corporation.
Since November, Houthi militants aligned with Iran have repeatedly launched drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden. This has forced shippers to reroute cargo to more expensive and time-consuming routes around Southern Africa and heightened concerns that the war between Israel and Hamas could break out and destabilise the Middle East.
The leader of the organisation stated in March that the group was enlarging its strike zone in order to stop ships connected to Israel from sailing through the Indian Ocean and towards the Cape of Good Hope.
According to its spokesman, in a videotaped speech early on Tuesday, the Iran-affiliated group also targeted two U.S. destroyers in the Red Sea and the Cyclades commercial vessel.
A container ship flying the flag of Malta claimed to have been hit by three missiles on Monday while travelling from Djibouti to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to a report earlier this week from the British maritime security company Ambrey. The Cyclades, according to the Houthis, was travelling that path when they struck the ship.
In an advisory note, Ambrey determined that the ship was targeted because of its listed operator’s continued trading with Israel.
Following the Houthi attacks on warships, the United States and Britain retaliated with strikes against Houthi sites.