Three sailors were killed and others injured in a Houthi missile attack on a ship in the Gulf of Aden, US officials said. It is the first death of a merchant ship crew since the Houthis began attacking ships off the coast of Yemen last year. .
Officials told US news agencies that the crew of the Houthi-claimed MV True Confidence abandoned ship after the attack.
The British Embassy in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. Posted in X: “At least two innocent sailors were killed. This was a sad but unavoidable consequence of the Houthis recklessly firing missiles at international shipping. They must stop.” ”
US Central Command later increased the death toll to three.
The bulk carrier was left adrift with a fire on board after the collision 50 nautical miles southwest of Aden at around 9:30 a.m. GMT on Wednesday, the ship’s owner and operator said.
“The ship is adrift,” Liberian-registered shipowner True Confidence Shipping and Greek-based operator Third January Maritime Limited said in a joint statement, adding that there was no current relationship with the U.S. company. .
Marine security company Ambry said the ship had been damaged in the collision, adding that “rescue operations are underway with some of the crew already in lifeboats.”
Yemen’s Houthi militants, who say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians to oppose Israeli military action in Gaza, have repeatedly fired drones and missiles at international commercial ships since mid-November. It’s firing.
Although many ships have been damaged in such attacks, Wednesday’s death was the first of its kind among merchant seafarers. Two U.S. Navy SEALs drowned off the coast of Somalia in January while attempting to board an unflagged ship carrying Iranian weapons bound for the Houthis.
The Yemen Data Project estimates that 11 civilian casualties were recorded in three separate US-led attacks against Houthi targets in Yemen in February.
The United States and Britain launched Operation Poseidon Archer on January 12th. The project estimates that the number of Houthi attacks on ships doubled in February compared to the previous month, increasing from a low of 33 in January to at least 79.
Wednesday’s incident came as the British embassy in Yemen warned of the dire environmental impact of the sinking of the Belize-flagged, Lebanese-owned aircraft carrier Rubimar. The ship sank over the weekend after being adrift for nearly two weeks. Lloyd’s List said old records may indicate that the Houthis and the British government considered the ship to be British-owned.
The escalating turmoil has prompted several shipping and oil companies to suspend or reroute sailings from the crucial sea route adjacent to Yemen, which accounts for about 12% of global shipping.
Earlier this week, four of the Red Sea’s 15 vital undersea cables were severed, with HGC Communications assessing this to have affected 25% of traffic.
London and Washington have acknowledged the need for better intelligence about Houthi military assets and are developing plans to help train local navies to help control Yemeni territorial waters.
Aden’s government is confident that even if Israel’s war in Gaza ends, the Houthis will not stop attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Militia groups have announced attacks on ships linked to Britain, the United States and Israel, but shipping industry officials say all ships could be at risk.
