Idan Ofer’s stake in Ardmore Shipping — the apparent impetus for a Houthi attack on one of the Irish owner’s ships earlier this month — was sold well before the attack.
TradeWinds understands EPS Ventures’ divested its 1.9m share stake months ago.
EPS Ventures is owned by Quantum Pacific Shipping, a trust ultimately owned by Israeli billionaire Ofer, US regulatory filings show.
On 13 December, the 49,500-dwt Ardmore Encounter (built 2014) was attacked by Houthi forces while transiting the Red Sea, first with rifles from a speed boat then with two missiles. One of the missiles was intercepted and the other missed the vessel.
The ship, which had armed guards on board, was not damaged nor were any crew members hurt.
The attack came four days after the Iran-backed Houthis, which control a large swathe of western Yemen, said they would begin attacking any ship calling on Israel or deemed to have ties to Israel in efforts to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza.
While no reason was given as to why the Ardmore Encounter was attacked, it is believed to be due to Ofer’s stake, which amounted to 4.9% of Ardmore Shipping shares.
EPS Ventures grew its position in New York-listed Ardmore Shipping to as much as 10.5% in April 2022, fueling speculation Ofer could be making a play to acquire the product tanker owner.
But no offer came and by January US Securities and Exchange Commission filings show Ofer had whittled his stake to 4.9%, just below the 5% reporting threshold.
The Ardmore Encounter attack was one of several launched by the Houthis this month, with some of the targets with tenuous connections to Israel.
They include a missile attack on the 20,000-dwt Norwegian-flagged and -owned chemical tanker Strinda (built 2006) after its charterer nominated an Israeli port for loading.
Another Norwegian-owned ship, the 20,000-dwt Swan Atlantic (built 2017) was struck with an unidentified object after, its owner Inventor Chemical Tankers claims, MarineTraffic wrongly identified its management as Israeli.
Other incidents were less clear: The 10,100-teu Maersk Gibraltar (built 2016) was attacked on 14 December for operator AP Moller-Maersk’s alleged past cooperation with the Israeli Navy.
The incidents pushed shipowners to begin rerouting their ships south, around the Cape of Good Hope.
It also prompted the US and allies including the UK, Norway, Canada and Greece to begin patrolling the southern Red Sea in Operating Prosperity Guardian.
