At least one Israeli ship was attacked in the Arabian Sea on February 10. As per Reuters, an operation is believed to have been carried out by Iran. The vessel is owned by an Israeli oil magnate – Eyal Ofer.
According to the statement of Eleston– the Greek company managing the damaged ship, “the vessel, free of cargo in ballast transit, was hit by an airborne object while in the Arabian Sea approximately 300 nautical miles off the coasts of India and Oman. We can confirm that both the vessel and crew are safe and proceeding as per planned passage. There is minor damage to the vessel,” the company said, adding that they “have made the necessary notifications to the relevant authorities.”
NEW: US military official confirms to me that Israeli-owned commercial ship Campo Square came under attack by an armed Iranian drone last Friday in the Arabian Sea.
Attack resulted in "minimal damage," per US official.
Incident first reported by @nafisehkBBC
— Jared Szuba (@JM_Szuba) February 17, 2023
An oil ship is operating on behalf of Zodiac shipping company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. Citing a U.S. military official and a regional military source, BBC Persian said the attack on the Campo Square involved several Iranian ships and likely the Shahed 136 drone, which Russia has been using in its invasion of Ukraine. The military source was quoted saying the attack could signal an “intensification of Iran’s threatening actions against shipping in the region.”
#BREAKING
Last Friday, Iranian drones targeted the Campo Square commercial ship owned by an Israeli billionaire in the Arabian Sea causing no serious damage,a #US mil official confirms.
“The attack was carried out by #Iran itself” another military source in the mideast told me
— Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) February 17, 2023
In previous years, drone attacks on Israeli commercial vessels in the Arabian Sea have been relatively frequent, with several reported fatalities. A number of ships were also attempted to be hijacked.
In November 2022, a self-destructing drone attacked the Pacific Zircon – a Liberian-flagged tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire – while transporting gas and oil. The U.S. Navy later confirmed “Iran’s connection” to the attack off the coast of Oman and said the drone was an Iranian-made “Shahed-136” suicide drone.
The British Foreign Office said that it was working to clarify the matter, while stressing ships must be allowed to navigate freely. Neither Israel nor Iran have commented on the latest incident.