A fire broke out on a container vessel operated by CMA CGM after it was hit by several Houthi missiles on 3 August.
The 2002-built, 2,500 TEU vessel Groton had armed guards on board and is chartered from Greek owner Conbulk Shipmanagement. Groton was sailing from Jebel Ali to Djibouti at the time of the incident.
This is the first attack on a ship in two weeks, occurring after Israel’s alleged assassinations of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr on 30 July, and of Hamas commander Ismail Haniyeh on 31 July.
UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) noted that the assault on Groton happened 170 nautical miles east of Aden, with the ship master reporting that the guards observed a small explosion in close proximity to the vessel.
UKMTO said: “There’s no damage and all crew are reported safe. The vessel is proceeding to its next port of call. No fires, water ingress or oil leaks have been observed.”
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired at Groton as other ships in its owner’s fleet had called at Israel.
S&P Global’s vessel-tracking data shows that Groton is now at an outer anchorage in Djibouti.
Container News tried contacting CMA CGM for comment but has not received a response. Groton is deployed to the French carrier’s India Gulf Red Sea Express service.
Coincidentally, the last vessel attacked by the Houthis, the 2,078 TEU Lobivia was also operated by CMA CGM. The attack, which occurred between 18 and 19 July, also caused a fire on board, but no one was hurt.
Maritime security consultancy Ambrey Analytics said it is likely that Iran, which is backing the Yemen-based Houthis, will respond to the latest assassinations in a similar way in April 2024, when Israel assassinated Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammed Zahedi.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
