A container ship flying the Portuguese flag was targeted by a drone attack in the remote areas of the Arabian Sea, aligning with assertions made by the Yemeni Armed Forces who claimed responsibility for the attack on the vessel, authorities reported on Tuesday.

The attack on the MSC Orion, situated approximately 600 kilometers (375 miles) off the Yemeni coast, marks the first acknowledged deep-sea attack claimed by the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) since they began their operations back in November in support of the Palestinians amid the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. This indicates the potential capability of the YAF to carry out strikes across the expanses of the Indian Ocean, as they previously warned, as per a report released by AP.

According to the Joint Maritime Information Center, which operates under the US-led Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East, the attack occurred last Friday. Following the attack, the crew found debris believed to be from a drone on board, as reported by the center.

The center claimed that the ship “sustained only minor damage and all crew on board are safe.”

In further detail, ship-tracking satellite data examined by AP indicated that the container ship, en route to Salalah, Oman, was in the vicinity of the attack on Saturday.

It is worth noting that the MSC Orion is linked to London-based Zodiac Maritime, a subsidiary of the Zodiac Group owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.

The Joint Maritime Information Center indicated in a report that the targeting of the MSC Orion was likely due to its perceived Israeli affiliation, as stated by the center.

The spokesperson for the Yemeni military Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated on Tuesday that the Israeli-affiliated MSC ORION container ship was targeted by the YAF's Unmanned Air Force in the Indian Ocean.

The big picture

The attack prompted inquiries into how the YAF could execute an assault hundreds of kilometers away from the Yemeni coast on a mobile target. Their previous areas of attack primarily encompassed the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait, which are close to Yemen's shoreline – unlike the location of the MSC Orion attack, as per the report.

The YAF affirm that their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden come as a response to ongoing aggression against the Yemeni people and in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza amid the Israeli brutal aggression that killed more than 34,000 Palestinians.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have repeatedly affirmed the safe navigation of ships of all countries through the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, except for Israeli and Israeli-bound ships, as well as American and British ships following the two countries' aggression on Yemen.

They also reaffirmed Yemen's consistent stance regarding the security and stability of the region, affirming that all measures carried out by the Yemeni Armed Forces do not contradict international humanitarian law.

Since November, the YAF carried out over 50 attacks on ships, capturing one vessel and sinking another, as reported by the US Maritime Administration. 

Meanwhile, the leader of the Ansar Allah movement Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi revealed that as of April 25, the YAF targeted 102 vessels of different origins and types. On average, this means that the YAF has targeted nearly one ship every two days.

مشاهد لحظة استهداف سفينة (CYCLADES) بطائرة مسيرة والتي كانت متجهة إلى موانئ فلسطينَ المحتلة في البحر الأحمر pic.twitter.com/BNC4jPj1SM

— الإعلام الحربي اليمني (@MMY1444) April 30, 2024

On Tuesday, the YAF released video footage of a drone attack on the Cyclades. The footage displayed a Samad bomb-equipped drone participating in the attack.

📷 صور من عملية إسقاط الدفاعات الجوية للطائرة الأمريكية MQ9 أثناء قيامها بمهام عدائية في أجواء محافظة صعدةhttps://t.co/Hw6ko4NQVu#معركة_الفتح_الموعود_والجهاد_المقدس pic.twitter.com/6vVPuqCVde

— الإعلام الحربي اليمني (@MMY1444) April 27, 2024

Additionally, the YAF asserted on Saturday that they downed another MQ-9 Reaper drone belonging to the US military, showcasing footage of wreckage corresponding to identifiable components of the unmanned aircraft. While the US military confirmed the drone's crash, it stated that an investigation into the incident was still underway.

Read next: What the West needs to know about Yemen's Ansar Allah