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YEMEN’s Iranian-backed houthis are threatening merchant ships hundreds of miles out in the Indian Ocean after striking a container vessel well beyond the Red Sea last week, maritime officials and experts have warned.
The drone attack on the MSC Orion on the night of April 26 followed a threat by the Houthis in March to extend their attacks to the Indian Ocean, including on commercial vessels sailing between Asia and Europe around the Cape of Good Hope, reports UK’s Financial Times.
Many shipping companies have switched to that longer route to avoid Houthi attacks on the approaches to the Suez Canal in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis have launched scores of strikes since November on commercial ships, saying they are acting in support of Gaza’s Palestinians, using a mixture of missiles and drones.
Jakob Larsen, head of maritime safety and security for Bimco predicted some shipping companies would reroute vessels further from Yemen to avoid the increased threat.
‘It is likely that some ships – especially those with links to Israel, the US or UK – will be routed further away from the threat,’ he said.
The MSC Orion was hit by a drone between 300 and 400 nautical miles south-east of the Horn of Africa, according to the UK’s Maritime Trade Operations office in Dubai.
While the Houthis claim to have targeted or hit other ships in the Indian Ocean in recent weeks, the MSC Orion attack was the first recognized by one of the international organizations working to safeguard the area’s vital sea lanes against piracy and military threats.
The vessel is sister ship of the MSC Aries, seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on April 13 in the Strait of Hormuz, and was operating the same ‘Himalaya Express’ service between Europe and ports in Sri Lanka and India.
UK Maritime Trade Operations said that the MSC Orion and crew were safe and continuing to their next port of call. A bulletin from the Joint Maritime Information Centre, an international organization sharing information on threats in the area, said debris from an unmanned aerial vehicle – or drone – had been found on the ship, which suffered only minor damage.
As well as the MSC Orion attack, the Houthis also on Friday hit the Andromeda Star, an oil tanker sailing through the Red Sea.
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