Dubai/Cairo:
Yemen's Houthis said they attacked the MSC Orion container ship in a drone strike in the Indian Ocean as part of their ongoing campaign against international shipping in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's military actions in Gaza.
The Portuguese-flagged MSC Orion sailed between the ports of Sines, Portugal and Salalah, Oman, and its registered owner is Zodiac Maritime, according to LSEG records.
Zodiac is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran-linked Houthi militants have repeatedly launched drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November, forcing shippers to divert their cargo to longer and more expensive voyages around southern Africa . the war between Israel and Hamas could spread and destabilize the Middle East.
In March, the group's leader said the group was expanding its attack area to prevent Israeli-linked ships from sailing through the Indian Ocean towards the Cape of Good Hope.
The Iran-linked group also targeted the Cyclades commercial ship and two US destroyers in the Red Sea, its spokesman said in a televised address early on Tuesday.
British maritime security firm Ambrey earlier reported that a Malta-flagged container ship said on Monday it was targeted by three missiles while en route from Djibouti to the Saudi city of Jeddah. The Houthis said the Cyclades were on that route when they attacked the ship.
Ambrey assessed that the ship was targeted due to the listed operator's continued trading with Israel, the ship said in an advisory note.
The United States and Britain have carried out strikes on Houthi targets in retaliation for their attacks on ships.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)