The 2007-built 6,648 TEU Maersk Sentosa was hit by missiles while
underway in the Arabian Sea. A Maersk spokesperson told Container News,
“We can confirm that vessel Maersk
Sentosa (operated by Maersk Line, Limited, a subsidiary of Maersk and operating
US-flagged vessels) reported being targeted by a flying object in the
northernmost part of the Gulf of Aden in the early morning hours on 9 July.
No injuries to the crew or damage to the ship or cargo were reported. The
vessel is currently continuing her voyage towards her next port of call, where
she is expected to arrive around noon on 9 July.”
This is the third known Houthi attack on a Maersk
ship. In April, another of Maersk's US-flagged ships, Maersk Yorktown,
was targeted by Houthi missiles on two separate occasions, on the 9 and 24
April.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said, “The American
ship Maersk Sentosa was targeted in the Arabian Sea by naval forces and missile
force in a joint operation."EconDB's vessel-tracking data shows that
Maersk Sentosa is assigned to Maersk's US Middle East Express service and is
now around Oman's Salalah port. The ship
is due to call at Jebel Ali on 13 July.
Yahya also claimed that another Maersk-operated
ship, the 2013-built 4,957 TEU Marathopolis, which is owned by Greek tonnage
provider Costamare Shipping, was hit by a Houthi drone. However, this could not
be confirmed.
Yahya noted the Malta-flagged ship was targeted
because it is "Israeli". EconDB's data shows Marathopolis is assigned
to Maersk's Mawingu service, which connects India, Pakistan, Oman and Kenya.Yahya added that drones targeted MSC's
2002-built 2,764 TEU MSC Patnaree III. However, according to EconDB, the ship
is now operated by X-Press Feeders for its East Africa-Red Sea service.