News / 'Stay cautious' warning to carriers after suspected drone attack on box ship

Photo: VesselFinder

Israel-linked ships are facing heightened risks on the Red Sea as targets for Iran-linked factions, as the conflict in Gaza continues.

Over the weekend, three vessels with ties to Israel found themselves in Iranian sights. Firstly, a suspected drone attack on the CMA CGM Symi, (pictured) a 15,264 teu box ship operated on behalf of CMA CGM by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.

A tanker belonging to Zodiac Maritime was reportedly boarded by Houthi rebels and diverted to Hodeida, and Iranian warships on Sunday demanded a Japanese bulk carrier change course.

A spokesperson for EPS told The Loadstar it was “aware of claims that a containership under the company’s management was targeted on Friday 24 November, following departure from the UAE”.

And while not commenting on any damage inflicted on the ship, the spokesperson added that the ship was “sailing as planned” and that “all crew are safe and well”.

According to VesselFinder, the ship is now on its way to Port Klang.

As the most visible face in Israeli container shipping, false reports of Zim vessels being attacked also circulated online, But a spokesperson was swift to deny this, telling The Loadstar: “We see many fake reports on social media. All Zim vessels are safe and accounted for.

“Zim is taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its crews, vessels and customers’ cargo.”

A spokesperson for Maersk told The Loadstar it was “closely monitoring the situation” noting that the safety of carriers employees was “of the utmost importance”.

They added: “While our operations in the area run as per usual, we have implemented additional security measures for our seafarers when transiting through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.”

UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), run by the military, warned vessel operators to “exercise caution”, and issued advice following demands purportedly from officials in Yemen.

It said: “We have been made aware of an entity, declaring itself to be Yemeni authorities, ordering a vessel to alter course. Vessels in the vicinity are advised to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.”

Later that day it noted it had been made aware that a “vessel was boarded by unauthorised persons” some 50 miles west of Aden.

Amid concern for the safety of crew and vessels, Israeli companies are increasingly worried for the safety and security of their employees. One airfreight source told The Loadstar the media had “disappointed” them during the conflict, “distorting reality” and putting “employees in the world at risk”.

Booking platform Freightos is also contending with staff concerns, noting in its most recent quarterly update that, as an Israeli company with many employees, including most of its management team, in Jerusalem, it was also facing losing staff to military call-ups.

Last week, it noted that since the war began, it had seen one management and several non-management employees called to serve.

“Shelter-in-place, work-from-home measures, government-imposed restrictions on movement and travel, and other precautions, may temporarily disrupt our management and employees’ ability to effectively perform their daily tasks,” Freightos told investors.

“It is also possible there’ll be further military reserve duty call-ups which may affect our business, due to a shortage of skilled labour and loss of institutional knowledge.”

Compounding these issues is that also having Palestinian employees based in the West Bank, in Ramallah and Nablus, Freightos has been contending with tensions between its teams in Jerusalem and Ramallah.