AT LEAST two seafarers have died in a missile attack on a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden.
They are the first crewmembers to have been killed since Ansar Allah (also known as the Houthis) began attacking ships in the Red Sea region.
The latest attack was against True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged bulk carrier, on 6 March.
US Central Command reported the vessel was struck by an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen.
Global media have reported the ship was ablaze about 50 nautical miles off the coast of port of Aden, and that two crewmembers had died. A statement from CentCom on Thursday morning (7 March) indicates the count may be higher.
“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,” CentCom wrote on X.
“The crew abandoned the ship and coalition warships responded and are assessing the situation.”
CentCom said this was the fifth anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the militia in the last two days.
It said two of the missiles “impacted” the vessels MSC Sky II and True Confidence and another missile was shot down by the destroyer USS Carney.
“These reckless attacks by the Houthis have disrupted global trade and taken the lives of international seafarers,” CentCom said.
The fatal True Confidence attack follows news this past week that the bulk carrier Rubymar had sunk after an attack in February.
Rubymar was the first ship to sink since the attacks began in November.
