Officials Blame Iran for Drone Attack on Cargo Ship

A container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean, an American defense official said Saturday. The attack Friday on the CMA CGM Symi comes as global shipping increasingly finds itself targeted in the Israel-Hamas war that threatens to become a wider regional conflict—even as a truce has halted fighting and Hamas exchanges hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The defense official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the Malta-flagged vessel was suspected to have been targeted by a triangle-shaped, bomb-carrying Shahed-136 drone while in international waters.

The drone exploded, causing damage to the ship but not injuring any of its crew. "We continue to monitor the situation closely," the official said. The official declined to elaborate on what intelligence the US military gathered to assess that Iran was behind the attack, though authorities suspect Tehran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard carried out the assault. The same drones have been used by Russia in its war on Ukraine, as recently as in a barrage launched Saturday that Kyiv described as Moscow's biggest drone attack since the war began. CMA CGM, a major shipper based in Marseille, France, referred questions to the Symi's owner, Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping. That company is ultimately controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.

In recent days, the Symi's crew had been behaving as though they believed the ship faced a threat. The ship had its Automatic Identification System tracker switched off since Tuesday when it left Dubai's Jebel Ali port, according to data from MarineTraffic.com analyzed by the AP. Ships are supposed to keep their AIS active for safety reasons, but crews will turn them off if it appears they might be targeted. It had done the same earlier when traveling through the Red Sea past Yemen, home to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Last Sunday, the Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship in the Red Sea off Yemen.

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