Yemen’s Houthis said they attacked the container ship MSC Orion with a drone in the Indian Ocean as part of their ongoing campaign against international shipping in solidarity with the Palestinians against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
The Portuguese-flagged MSC Orion was sailing from the port of Sines, Portugal to Salalah, Oman, and its registered owner is Zodiac Maritime, according to shipping tracking website lseg.com.
Zodiac Maritime is partially owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer, Reuters noted, adding that the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Iran-linked group also targeted the merchant ship “Cyclades” (Cyclades), as well as two American squadron destroyers in the Red Sea, its spokesman said in a televised address early this morning, BTA reported.
British maritime security firm Ambrey said last night that three missiles had been fired at a Maltese-flagged container ship as it traveled from Djibouti to the Saudi city of Jeddah. The Houthis said the Cyclades vessel was sailing on this route when they attacked the vessel.
According to Ambri, the ship was attacked because the company that operated it continued to trade with Israel.
Since November, Iran-backed Houthi fighters have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea, the Bab el Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden, forcing shipping companies to divert cargo to longer and more expensive routes around South Africa and heightens fears that the war between Israel and Hamas could spread and destabilize the Middle East, according to Reuters.
In March, the group’s leader said it was expanding its area of operation to prevent Israeli-linked ships from crossing the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope.
