A drone attack on a Portuguese-flagged container ship in the remote Arabian Sea is consistent with claims that Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked the ship there, authorities said Tuesday.
The attack on the MSC Orion, which occurred about 375 miles off the coast of Yemen, is believed to be the first known deep-sea attack since the Houthis began targeting ships in November. This comes as the Houthis, or potentially their main backer Iran, have threatened to do so, as the rebels have previously threatened in the ongoing operation over Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This suggests that it may have the ability to attack beyond the Indian Ocean.
Missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels could damage ships in Red Sea
The attack occurred last Friday, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, which operates as part of the U.S.-led Joint Maritime Command in the Middle East. The center said that after the attack, the crew found debris that appeared to be from a drone on board the plane.
A Portuguese-flagged container ship has been attacked by a drone in the remote Arabian Sea. (AP photo)
The center said the ship suffered only minor damage and all crew members were safe. Ship-tracking satellite data analyzed by The Associated Press showed that a container ship bound for Oman’s Salalah entered the attack zone on Saturday.
MSC Orion is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group, in partnership with London-based Zodiac Maritime. It was operated on behalf of the Mediterranean Shipping Company, based in Naples, Italy. Zodiac referred questions to MSC, which did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The Joint Maritime Information Center assesses that “MSC Orion was likely targeted because of its perceived affiliation with Israel,” the center said in a report.
Brigadier General Yahya Salih, military spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, claimed that there was an attack on the Orion early Tuesday morning. He did not explain why it took several days for the rebels to acknowledge the attack.
The attack immediately raised questions about how the Houthis were able to carry out an attack on a mobile target hundreds of kilometers from Yemen’s coast. So far, their main areas of attack have been the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the two key waterways for international trade. These are different from the site of the MSC Orion attack and are closer to the Yemeni coastline.
The Houthis are not known to operate an expeditionary naval fleet, nor do they have access to satellites or other advanced means of controlling long-range drones.
Iran, which has supplied Shiite rebels in the years-long war in Yemen, is assessed by Western countries and experts as being behind at least one complex attack claimed by the Houthis. Attacks on Saudi oil fields in 2019 temporarily cut production in half. Kingdom energy production. Iran also routinely operates warships in the Arabian Sea, and just before an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel on April 13, it seized the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries and her crew. I just did it.
Iranian state media uniformly reported the Houthis’ claim that they carried out the attack on Orion. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment.
The Houthis say the attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are aimed at pressuring Israel to end its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians. ing. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
Since November, the Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on ships, capturing one and sinking another, according to the US Maritime Administration. Transport through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has decreased due to threats.
Houthi attacks had declined in recent weeks as rebels were targeted in a US-led air campaign in Yemen.
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I like the fact that the rebels have resumed attacks over the past week. On Tuesday, rebels released footage of a drone attack the day before on the Maltese-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Cyclades. The footage showed a Samad bomb-carrying drone, believed to have been provided by Iran to the Houthis, being used in the attack.
On Saturday, the Houthis also claimed to have shot down another U.S. military drone, the MQ-9 Reaper, and aired footage of parts that corresponded to parts of a known drone. The U.S. military confirmed the drone crashed, but said the investigation was ongoing.
