300 dead, 1600 injured and still counting

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Elon tours Kfar Aza...


https://twitter.com/LahavHarkov/status/1...8957726820

Kfar Aza (in Hebrew literal means: "Gaza Village") is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located between Netivot and Sderot around 3.1 miles east of Gaza. In 2021, it had a population of 765. The kibbutz was established in August 1951 by Jewish immigrants and refugees from Egypt and the Moroccan city of Tangier.


Houthi forces fired two ballistic missiles at the USS Mason (Arleigh Burke Class destroyer) in the Gulf of Aden following the Navy’s arrest of 5 gunmen who tried to hijack the oil tanker "Central Park". The U.S. Navy successfully rescued the vessel.

The tanker is managed by Zodiac Maritime Ltd, a London-headquartered international ship management company owned by Israel's Ofer family. The Liberian-flagged vessel was built in 2015 and is owned by Clumvez Shipping Inc.


Most interesting Israeli billionaire for the moment...

His father, Sammy Ofer, was a Romanian-born Israeli shipping magnate and once Israel's richest man. Ofer graduated from Atlantic College, an international boarding school affiliated with the United World Colleges, based in St Donat's Castle, Wales.

He served as an intelligence officer in the Israeli Air Force from 1967 to 1973. He then studied Maritime Law at the University of London.

No doubt also connected in some ways to British intel.

He is "one of the most influential shipowners in the industry”, according to Lloyd’s List, ranking among its 100 most influential people, since 2013...

Ofer also regularly attends the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos.

In June 2023, Bloomberg reported his net worth to be US$20.7 billion.

Ofer is the chairman of Global Holdings, a private real estate holding company specializing in large-scale commercial real estate and high-end residential developments.

Its residential projects include 15 Central Park West, which was described as “the most powerful apartment building in the world” and “the most lucrative”, with quoted apartment sales of approximately $2 billion.

Ok, that explains the ship's name, "Central Park".

Shipping

Ofer started his career in international maritime transportation in all the major shipping segments in the 1980s.

He is the chairman of Zodiac Group, a privately held Monaco-based ship owning and chartering (i.e. leasing) company with a fleet of more than 180 vessels. It is the largest operator of vessels under the Red Ensign by tonnage. Ofer has been a director of Royal Caribbean Cruises, the second largest cruise company in the world, since May 1995 and holds a significant stake in the company.

In 2022, Ofer was ranked 7th in the Lloyd’s List Top 100 Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry. According to Lloyd’s List, "the consensus view from those who know Eyal Ofer best is that he is a man who understands the markets with forensic detail". He controls one of the larghest private shipping fleets in the world, and is the third-largest non-operating owner of containerships in the world.

In 2021, a Japanese-owned merchant tanker managed by Zodiac Maritime suffered a drone attack which killed two people. The US military announced that the drone had been produced in Iran.

Energy

Through O.G. Energy, he is involved in energy production, including renewable energy, and the production of green hydrogen. In 2022, he invested in Belgium-based green hydrogen energy startup Tree Energy Solutions (TES), through O.G. Energy. Through O.G. Oil & Gas, the oil and gas arm of Ofer Global's O.G. Energy division, he has exploration and production interests in South East Asia and in Australasia, including a 70% majority stake in New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZOG), acquired in 2017.

In October 2018, O.G. Energy agreed to acquire a 40 per cent stake in Beach Energy’s Otway Basin assets off the south east coast of Australia. In 1990, he also founded OMNI Offshore Terminals, the largest provider of floating production storage and offloading (FSO and FPSO) assets to the offshore oil and gas industry, with headquarters in Singapore.

Technology

Ofer has interests in technology companies through single LP VC fund O.G. Venture Partners, the tech investment arm of Ofer Global. Its $150 million Fund I launched in 2017 to invest in early growth start-ups with disruptive technologies, including LendBuzz, WSC Sports, BlueVine, Bringg, Paxos, Connecteam, Elementor, Coralogix, Candivore and SuperPlay. In 2022, Ofer stated that "Technology has become the global economy’s central nervous system" at the launch of O.G. Venture Partners $400 million Fund II, continuing his focus on early growth stage investments in software tech start-ups.

Arts

Ofer is listed among the top 200 collectors in the world of contemporary, modern, impressionist and post-impressionist art by ARTnews. He inherited half of an extensive collection from his father, including masterpieces by Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso, and continues to expand a significant collection. He is associated with several Arts institutions and is a founding member of the Circle of Friends of Fondation Giacometti in Paris. He is a trustee and serves on the permanent acquisitions committee for the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

Philanthropy

Ofer is a supporter of artistic, educational and cultural institutions – including the Tate Modern and the National Maritime Museum in the UK and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art – through the Eyal & Marilyn Ofer Family Foundation, which continues his family's philanthropic tradition. Ofer is chairman of the Foundation.

Ofer was one of the donors to the Gloriana during the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012.

In 2020, the Eyal Ofer Heart Hospital opened with financial support from Ofer for the Rambam Health Care Campus, which built the new cardiology hospital.

Personal life

He is married to Marilyn Ofer, and they have four children. They reside in Monte Carlo, Monaco. In 2008, they resided in west London and had a home in Herzliya Pituah near Tel Aviv. He also owns an apartment at 15 Central Park West, a building he developed located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.

Wiki

I haven't looked but I'm sure he has some business dealings with Musk and Trump.

U.S. Central Command
@CENTCOM

On Nov. 26, the USS MASON (DDG 87), with allied ships from our coalition counter-piracy task force (TF 151), and associated aircraft responded to a distress call from the M/V CENTRAL PARK, a commercial vessel, that they were under attack by an unknown entity. Upon arrival, coalition elements demanded release of the vessel. Subsequently, five armed individuals debarked the ship and attempted to flee via their small boat. The MASON pursued the attackers resulting in their eventual surrender. The crew of the M/V CENTRAL PARK is currently safe.

At approximately 0141 on Nov. 27 Sanaa time, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen toward the general location of the USS MASON (DDG 87) and M/V CENTRAL PARK. The missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden approximately ten nautical miles from the ships. The USS MASON (DDG87), which is part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, was concluding its response to the M/V CENTRAL PARK distress call at the time of the missile launches. There was no damage or reported injuries from either vessel during this incident.

“Maritime domain security is essential to regional stability,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM commander. “We will continue to work with allies and partners to ensure the safety and security of international shipping lanes.”

https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/1728982985238843665

Pentagon PresSec Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder says: "We know that they’re not Houthi." Pentagon has initially assessed the five individuals detained as Somali.

USS Mason (DDG 87) finds herself in the thick of it again - this time with an assist (this is a big deal BTW), it appears by the Japanese Navy who are there as part of CTF-151;

UKMTO put the Central Park's location over 60 kilometers (35 miles) south of Yemen's coast, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Djibouti and around 110 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden, a key shipping route.

    …attackers seized the Liberian-flagged Central Park, managed by Zodiac Maritime, in the Gulf of Aden, the company, the U.S. and British militaries and private intelligence firm Ambrey said.

    Early Monday morning, Zodiac said the vessel carrying phosphoric acid and its crew of 22 sailors from Bulgaria, Georgia, India, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey and Vietnam were “unharmed.”

As usual, Jennifer Griffin give a good executive summary of the action, but this is what I found most interesting;



...
CTF-151 has been a great opportunity for naval forces around the world to hone their ability to operate with other nations on a global basis, not just the ones who support the international order. The People Republic of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy has used it more than almost any other to show the flag, get her nose under all sorts of tents, and to steal, build, and spy for the good of the CCP.

The note about the PRC ships not responding it telling. CTF-151 is a counter piracy force. If you are not going to respond to cries for help from merchantmen from piracy, then why are you actually there? Well, see the prior paragraph.

American Naval Forces (with a Japanese assist) Capture Pirates

Taking down pirates in that part of the open seas brings back memories.