On Oct 10, 2024, the 'Olympic Spirit', en route from Jeddah to Muscat, suffered three attacks with unmanned aerial vehicles in the Red Sea. One unknown projectile hit the ship as it was sailing close to the Eritrean coast at 12:10 a.m. GMT, about 70 nautical miles southwest of the port of Hodeidah. The projectile was likely an aerial drone that struck the ship’s bridge, causing light damage on its starboard side. Approximately four hours later, two additional projectiles detonated within 0.27 nautical miles of the vessel’s port side. The master of the vessel reported the tanker was hit by four projectiles, sustaining damage, but no fires or casualties were reported. The crew was reported safe and the vessel was proceeding to its next port of call.
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MINOAN COURAGE
The 'Minoan Courage' has made it to the Gulf of Suez after being damaged by a Houthi missile off Yemen, having managed to move away from the danger zone by its own means. None of the vessel’s Filipino crew members was injured in the attack. The Houthis likely struck Greek bulker while chasing another vessel. The bulk carrier was hit by one single missile on the aft starboard side.
SOUNION
Almost seven weeks since Houthi terrorists attacked the 'Sounion' in the Red Sea and planted explosives on the ship, setting off a series of fires on the ship's deck, these seem to have been turned off with the risk of a violent environmental disaster having been reduced significantly. Greek firefighters began fighting the fire on the ship on Sep 23. and after a week had some of the deck fires under contro. On Oct 6 it was announced that the firefighting efforts were nearing completion. Most of the fires were extinguished, while the rest were under control. On Oct 7 the 'Sounion''s heat signature no longer appeared on infrared satellite images, just as images taken from a satellite no longer showed smoke from the ship.
AYA
The Russian missile strike on the 'Aya' on Sep 11 is believed to have been a mistake. The ship, carrying 26,000 tons of grain from Odesa to Egypt, was hit by an AS-4 Kitchen anti-ship missile launched by a Tu-22 Tupolev bomber. However, British military intelligence suggested that the bulk carrier was likely not the intended target. The officials pointed to poor targeting procedures by Russian pilots and the use of aging munitions as the probable cause of the error. The missile’s failure to detonate also helped avoid a potentially catastrophic outcome.
TOREX
The 'Torex', en route from Mundra to Qingdao, was boarded by five perpetrators, armed with knives, on Oct 2, 2024, at 1.09 a.m. in the Strait of Malacca and Singapore, about 2,3 nautical miles south of Pulau Cula, in pos. 1° 4'74 N 153° 43'05 E. The intruders stole engine spares and escaped.