Houthis execute drone assault on Maersk-chartered vessel

A Maersk-chartered container ship has been reportedly attacked by Houthis in the Arabian Sea, as the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group continues targeting vessels in response to the Gaza War.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said that several drones assaulted the 2013-built, 4,957 TEU Megalopolis, which Maersk has been chartering from Greece-based shipping company Costamare since 2018.

Yahya noted: “With God’s help, we targeted the Megalopolis ship in the Arabian Sea with a number of drones. The ship was targeted because its owner company violated the decision to ban entry to the ports of occupied Palestine.”

According to EconDB, Megalopolis is assigned to Maersk’s ME8 service connecting the Middle East with Europe. The ME8 was introduced in February to offer solutions for containers heading to the West and East Mediterranean from the Persian Gulf.

S&P Global’s data does not show Megalopolis as being in casualty or undergoing repairs, and that the ship is off Salalah, Oman. The ship was underway from Spain’s port of Valencia to UAE’s Jebel Ali port, with its estimated date of arrival being today (21 October).

Maersk did not respond to Container News’ request to confirm the attack.

If confirmed, it will be the sixth Houthi attack on a Maersk-operated ship since the rebel group began terrorizing the Red Sea in late 2023. The last attack on a Maersk-operated vessel was in July, when the 6,648 TEU Maersk Sentosa escaped damage or crew injuries after being hit by missiles in the Arabian Sea.

In the past week, US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed 20 one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems and cruise missiles.

Source: Container-News

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