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A campaign of attacks by the Yemeni Houthis on commercial ships claimed its first casualties on Wednesday when an attack on a Barbados-flagged dry bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden killed three sailors and injured four.
The death toll on the True Confidence ship, which was sold by US private equity group Oaktree Capital a few days ago, came in a statement issued by the US Army's Central Command (Centcom). The Houthi rebel group claimed responsibility for the attack hours ago.
While the Houthis have attacked more than 40 ships since the start of their campaign in November, there have been no serious casualties among sailors before. The previous, more serious attack, on February 19, resulted in the sinking of the dry bulk carrier Rubimar. Its crew left the ship safely.
Central Command wrote on the social media platform X that an anti-ship ballistic missile was launched towards the ship at 11.30 am local time.
She added: “The missile hit the ship, and the multinational crew reported the deaths of three people, and at least four injuries, three of whom are in critical condition, and the ship was severely damaged.”
The official Houthi spokesman, Yahya Saree, claimed responsibility for the attack, describing the True Confidence ship as an “American ship.”
Saree reiterated the movement’s claim, which has Iranian support, that it is working in support of the Palestinians in Gaza.
The United States condemned the attack on True Confidence and urged other countries to follow suit and join Washington in helping to end the ongoing attacks.
“These reckless attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis not only disrupted global trade, but also claimed the lives of international sailors doing their jobs,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “[We] We condemn the Houthis for these attacks and will call on governments around the world to follow our example and join us in stopping these horrific attacks.
According to a statement issued by the ship's managers, the ship's crew consisted of 15 Filipinos, four Vietnamese and one Indian. There were also three security guards – two from Sri Lanka and one from Nepal.
The ship is owned by True Confidence SA, registered in Liberia and operated by Third January Maritime, based in the Greek port of Piraeus. It was owned until a few days ago by Oaktree, which is still listed in several marine databases as the ship's owner.
A photo published by the ship's Central Command showed that the missile caused severe damage to the residential building containing the crew cabin.
The ship, which was carrying a cargo of steel products and trucks from the Chinese port of Lianyungang to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Aqaba in Jordan, was flying the Barbados flag.
The Houthis launched attacks on ships they describe as Israeli, British or American. Many attacks have been carried out based on weak links, outdated or incorrect information on offshore websites.
The statement issued on behalf of Third January said that the ship “was drifting as the fire continued on board.”
The attack appears likely to have been a result of the ship's previous ownership by Oaktree, one of the most active US private equity firms investing in shipping. One of the people familiar with the problem said that the ship passed to new owners on February 27.
The directors' statement said there was “no current contact with any US entity.”
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The Houthis used “a number of open sources” to determine whether the ship was linked to countries or entities they felt were legitimate targets, said Martin Kelly, senior Middle East analyst at EOS Risk Group, a maritime security practice.
“Entries on open source platforms such as Marine Traffic are often used, which may not have been updated with up-to-date ownership details, leading to attacks on offline vessels,” Kelly said. “Maybe that's the case with true trust.”
The Houthis began a campaign of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November, following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas.
Central Command said that the missile that hit the True Confidence ship was the fifth launched by the Houthis in the past two days. One of them hit the container ship MSC Sky 2 on Monday, while another was shot down by the US warship USS Carney. He did not say what happened to the other two weapons.
The Central Command said: “These reckless attacks launched by the Houthis disrupted global trade and claimed the lives of international sailors.”
Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations' maritime arm, described the “horrific reports” of casualties as “deeply sad.”
“I offer my deepest condolences and those of the entire IMO family to the families of those who lost their lives, and our thoughts are with those injured,” he said in a statement. “Innocent seafarers should never become collateral victims.”
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington
