At least three seafarers dead in Houthi attack on bulker True Confidence

CENTCOM says Coalition forces are assessing the situation after crew abandoned True Confidence

At least three seafarers have been killed in a Houthi missile attack on the 2011-built Barbados-flagged bulker True Confidence and others have reportedly suffered serious burns. These are the first seafarer fatalities to result from the Iranian-backed terrorist organization’s continuing attacks on merchant vessels.

According to U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, the attack took place at 0840 UTC, 54 nautical miles southwest of Aden, with the crew subsequently abandoning the vessel and coalition warships responding.

Media reports say that U.S. military sources confirmed the identity of the vessel as the True Confidence. The U.K. Embassy in Yemen confirmed the deaths.

A Houthi spokesman said:

“The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeting operation against the American ship (TRUE CONFIDENCE) in the Gulf of Aden, with a number of appropriate naval missiles. The strike was accurate, led to a fire breaking out on it.

“The targeting operation came after the ship’s crew rejected warning messages from the Yemeni naval forces.

“The Yemeni armed forces renew their alert to all ships in response to calls from the Yemeni naval forces, and all crews of the targeted ships must quickly leave after the first attack.”

According to the Equasis data base, the registered owner of True Confidence is True Confidence Shipping SA of Monrovia, Liberia. It is managed by Third January Maritime of Piraeus with ISM management being provided by FML Ship Management of Nicosia, Cyprus.

Media reports quote the owners and managers as saying “there is no current connection with any U.S. entity.”

In its report on the incident, the BBC cites the AP as saying that the vessel had been previously owned by U.S.-based Oaktree Capital Management, which declined to comment to AP.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) gave this update:

At approximately 11:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) Mar. 6, an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) was launched from Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen toward M/V True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier, while transiting the Gulf of Aden. The missile struck the vessel, and the multinational crew reports three fatalities, at least four injuries, of which three are in critical condition, and significant damage to the ship. The crew abandoned the ship and coalition warships responded and are assessing the situation. This is the fifth ASBM fired by Houthis in the last two days. Two of these ASBMs impacted two shipping vessels – M/V MSC Sky II and M/V True Confidence – and one ASBM was shot down by USS Carney (DDG 64). These reckless attacks by the Houthis have disrupted global trade and taken the lives of international seafarers.