A cargo ship owned by an Israeli billionaire was reportedly attacked early Friday morning in the Indian Ocean by an Iranian drone, hours before the start of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, according to a US defense official.
The news was first reported by the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen channel, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, and said that a fire broke out on the ship following the attack.
While the ship was damaged, there were no casualties to any crew members.
The Malta-flagged CMA CGM SYMI, recently renamed Mayet, was struck on Friday by an unmanned aerial vehicle, which appeared to be an Iranian Shahed-136 drone, in the northeast portion of the Indian Ocean, the official said, asking not to be named.
Iran has supplied Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. They carry a small warhead that explodes on impact.
How US military knew Iran was responsible is unclear
“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” the Press cited the official as saying, who also declined to explain how the US military believed Iran was responsible for the attack. The report also said that the ship had its Automatic Identification System tracker switched off since Tuesday since it left from Dubai, which they are supposed to keep on for safety reasons.
This report comes less than a week after Houthis from Yemen hijacked the ship Galaxy Leader, which was partially owned by an Israeli businessman.
Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), which had rented Mayet, said it was aware a container ship was targeted in a possible security incident on Friday.
"The vessel in question is currently sailing as planned. All crew are safe and well," EPS said in a statement sent to Reuters.
EPS is controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer and its ships have previously come under similar attacks.
There was no immediate comment from Iranian and Israeli officials.
Mayet switched off its transponder on Tuesday after leaving Dubai's Jebel Ali port, LSEG data showed. It was unclear if it made a scheduled stop in Oman's Sohar port on Wednesday.
The United States has blamed Iran for unclaimed attacks on several vessels in the region in the past few years. Tehran has denied involvement.
In a separate incident, Britain's Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said on Saturday a ship was ordered to alter course in the Red Sea by an entity declaring itself to represent Yemeni authorities and called on other vessels to exercise caution.
This is a developing story.