M/V True Confidence Evacuated After Civilian Fatalities In Houthi Attack On Red Sea

On Thursday, the Indian navy successfully evacuated 20 crew members from a Greek-operated, stricken vessel in the Red Sea following a Houthi attack that took the lives of three seafarers in the first-ever civilian fatalities resulting from the Yemeni group’s campaign against the crucial shipping route.

The Iran-backed militants fired a missile toward the Barbados-flagged True Confidence on Wednesday approximately 50 nm off the port of Aden, setting it on fire. In one statement, the manager and ship owners said that all 20 crew, along with three armed guards, were rushed to a hospital in Djibouti on an Indian warship.

Two of the deceased individuals were Filipino nationals, whereas the third one was from Vietnam, the managers and owners said, expressing condolences to loved ones. Two more Filipinos were severely injured. On Thursday, Vietnam condemned the attack and said that one of the Vietnamese crew members passed away while the rest were in good health. Images that the Indian Navy published reflected that a helicopter was winching crew members from a small life raft in the choppy seas and carrying them to a naval vessel. Some wounded were also seen lying on the bottom of a navy lifeboat sent to aid.

They were taken on stretchers to the vessel and later shown with bandaged limbs as they were evacuated and rushed to the Djibouti hospital. The firms mentioned in their statement that the vessel has been drifting away from the land, and salvage arrangements are in progress. A spokesperson associated with the companies informed Reuters that a salvage deal for the vessel was signed, declining further facts citing security matters.

The Houthis have been able to keep up their relentless campaign of brutal attacks on vessels in one of the busiest shipping lanes of the world since November, in what they say is to show solidarity with the Palestinians for the ongoing Israeli war with the Hamas in Gaza. The loss of life, as well as injuries to civilian seafarers, is unacceptable, some global shipping organizations said on Thursday.

The frequency of the attacks on merchant vessels highlights the pressing need for stakeholders to make decisive decisions to safeguard civilian seafarers’ lives and end these threats. Since last November, the cost associated with insuring a seven-day journey via the Red Sea has recently shot up by thousands of dollars.

War risk insurance rates have reflected the sinking of Rubymar, days after a Houthi missile struck it on 18 Feb, and the first-ever fatalities from the True Confidence, mentioned Munro Anderson, the head of operations of marine war risk and insurance expert at Vessel Protect – part of the Pen Underwriting. The Houthis have made use of an array of advanced weapons, including the kinds of ballistic missiles as well as kamikaze drones, despite retaliatory strikes by the US and the UK on their bases located in Yemen to cripple their capacity to launch attacks.

Stephen Cotton, the GS of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (abbreviated the ITF), the leading seafarers union, urged for adequate protection. No delivery window can ever be worth the loss of seafarers’ lives. They urge the industry to divert vessels through the Cape of Good Hope until secure transit via the Red Sea can be assured.

Approximately 23,000 vessels a year sail through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to another important waterway—the Suez Canal, accounting for roughly 12% of international trade. Taking the relatively much longer route via the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa adds around ten days more to the journey, postponing supply chains and pushing up costs.

True Confidence set sail from China to Jeddah and Aqaba, loaded with cargo compromising steel items and trucks. True Confidence Shipping SA owns the vessel registered with Liberia and operated by Greece’s Third January Maritime. There’s no connection with a US entity, the firms said.

Reference: Reuters

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