Castle Harbour, owner of the container ship damaged by a drone attack at the entrance to the Red Sea, says the ship and crew are safe.
Speaking to TradeWinds, co-founder and managing partner Shaun Burch confirmed the attack on the 4,253-teu Number 9 (built 2007) in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
“The crew are safe and the ship is continuing on its voyage, there is no pollution,” he said.
Although there were reports of water ingress, Burch said the vessel did not require emergency salvage services.
The ship was originally linked to Mount Street Capital but was acquired when Castle Harbour was spun off from Mount Street in 2020.
There are currently no Israeli links to the ship, which is on hire to Orient Overseas Container Line, although it was formerly on hire to Zim more than two years ago.
According to maritime security expert Ambrey Analytics, after the attack Yemeni authorities ordered the Number 9 to alter its course towards the Yemeni coast, threatening it with another attack in case of non-compliance.
However, the master of the Number 9 said he was unable to comply with the request, citing an engine malfunction.
There were two other attacks on shipping in the region over the weekend.
Unity Maritime’s 60,700-dwt Unity Explorer (built 2016) was attacked by a drone.
Nissen Kaiun’s 81,800-dwt AOM Sophie II (built 2020) “experienced heavy vibrations” and was “reportedly struck by an unidentified object”, Ambrey said.
