Israeli cargo ship suspected of being attacked by Iranian UAV

US officials say an Israeli cargo ship was attacked in the Indian Ocean by a drone from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

An unnamed US defense official said today that Washington has recorded an attack by a Shahed-136 suicide drone deployed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the CMA CGM Symi cargo ship owned by an Israeli billionaire.

The attack occurred in international waters, the ship suffered minor damage and there were no casualties, the US official said. "We are closely monitoring the situation," he added, but declined to say how the US military concluded the IRGC was behind the attack.

CMA CGM Symi ship. Photo: Marine Traffic

Shipping company CMA CGM, which operates the Symi and is based in the French city of Marseille, has not commented.

Iranian officials have not commented on this information.

The crew appeared to have known the ship was under threat, a source familiar with the matter said. The Symi’s automatic identification system (AIS) was turned off on November 21 when it left the port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. The same happened when the Symi was sailing in the Red Sea off Yemen.

The Maltese-flagged ship, built in 2022, has a deadweight of 154,700 tonnes, according to Marine Traffic.

Ships normally keep AIS active at all times to ensure safe navigation. AIS is only turned off when the crew believes the ship is at risk if it is detected on the international monitoring system.

Iran's Shahed-136 UAV during the 2021 exercise. Photo: IRNA

There is much debate over the extent of Iran’s involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Hamas representatives claimed that the group received “direct support” from Iran in the attack. However, Iran later denied the information and insisted that it had no involvement in the attack, although it expressed support for Hamas’ campaign.

Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, said in a letter released on November 16 that the force is "ready to do whatever is necessary" to support Hamas in its conflict with Israel. Mr. Qaani said the situation in the Middle East will never return to the way it was before the Hamas attack.

Thanh Danh (According to Times of Israel, AFP )

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