The armed assault on the 'Odysseus' was allegedly by a group of armed men trying to seize a stash of cocaine before entering Malaga. The vessel, arrived in Malaga on Sep 6. Everything indicated that the incident, already under investigation by the Portuguese Judicial Police, was related to drug trafficking. The ship had been attacked early on Sep 3 morning by at least two armed, hooded men off the coast of the Algarve. The Maritime Operations Center (Comar) received an alert from the Maritime Traffic Control Center (CCTM) of the Directorate General of Natural Resources, Safety, and Maritime Services (DGRM) at 11 p.m., reporting a radio communication from the 'Odysseus' alerting the presence of non-crew members on board and requesting assistance from the Portuguese authorities. At the time, the vessel was sailing off the Algarve coast. The 'Odysseus' had set sail from the port of Vigo, bound for Málaga, after previously stopping in the ports of Guayaquil and Posorja, both known for the presence of cocaine mafias. Shortly after leaving Galician waters, the alleged drug traffickers, with an Eastern European accent, managed to board the vessel. Under threat of weapons, they forced the crew to take refuge in the engine room while they searched for the drugs allegedly hidden inside. The Portuguese Navy reacted quickly upon receiving the alert and deployed a frigate to the Algarve, from which it took control of the vessel. A helicopter and an assault team also participated in the operation. Despite the extensive deployment, the hijackers were not located during the search of the ship, fueling the hypothesis that they fled before the arrival of the navy. At least two crew members may have been held in the engine room to force them to reveal the exact location of the drugs. The vessel remained anchored approximately ten kilometers from Lagos while the search continued in search of those responsible. Investigators suspected that the assailants were working to recover the narcotic substance before the ship sailed into Málaga, although it has not yet been confirmed whether the perpetrators were the owners of the stash or if their intention was to seize it from other drug traffickers. The 'Odysseus' left Malaga again on Sep 7, headed to Valencia with an ETA as of Sep 8.
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GEORGITSI
The 'Georgitis', en route from Paranagua to Zhoushan, while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme of the Singapore Strait, was boarded by three unarmed perpetrators on Aug 28, 2025 at 10.42 p.m., about 4,2 nautical miles off Pulau Cula, in pos. 1° 3.6' N 103° 38.53' E. The crew members were not injured, and nothing was reported stolen from the ship.
MSC ABY
The Houthi terrorists claimed to have launched a successful attack on the 'MSC Aby', using “two drones and a winged missile,” although the vessel reached its port of destination, Jeddah, on Sep 2, 2025, at 7.42 a.m., after sailing from Port Said. The UKMTO, a provider of security alerts, had no reports related to the incident. The Houthi report included no date information for the alleged attack either. Until earlier this week, the ship’s route through the Suez Canal to Jeddah was entirely north of the northernmost reported Houthi attack. The 'MSC Aby' has no recent port calls in Israel, but called Ashdod in 2023. According to the Mica Center security center, attached to the French Navy, the information was false. No incident had been reported by the Swiss shipowner MSC. The 'MSC Aby' also did not deviate from its course.
SCARLET RAY
Houthi rebels claimed to have attacked the 'Scarlet Ray', an Israeli-owned ship, near the city of Yanbu on Aug 31, 2025. The tanker had sailed from Yanbu Industrial City on Aug 26, 2025. The missile attack was confirmed, but the tanker was not hit. An explosion had occurred near the vessel. According to the British monitoring center UKMTO, the crew was unharmed and the ship was able to continue its voyage. The relevant authorities were investigating the incident, and UKMTO has issued advisories for vessels in the area to exercise caution.
ODYSSEUS
On the night of Sep 3, 2025, an operation was launched by the Portuguese Navy, after the crew of the 'Odysseus' requested assistance, stating there were armed perpetrators aboard. At least two sailors were locked in the engine room by the raiders. . The ship was underway from Virgo to Malga at the time of the boarding. The alert requesting assistance went out at around 11 p.m. LT, while the vessel was off the Algarve coast near the city of Lagos. The container ship diverted to a position approximately six nautical miles off the coast, and on Sep 4 at around 1 a.m. a team from the Navy and National Maritime Authority boarded the vessel. Both patrol boats and a helicopter were involved in the operation. The vessel was diverted to the port of Sines for further inspections, where it berthed on Sep 5 at around 1 a.m. The two crew members were released from the engine room, and an initial search did not locate the perpetrators. There was speculation that it was a drug cartel that boarded the ship. There were two individuals armed and wearing hoods spotted on the ship. They were thought to have fled before the authorities arrived to assist the vessel.