‘Innocent sailors’ lost three lives in the first deadly Houthi strike on Red Sea shipping

London: The first confirmed casualties since the Iran-aligned Yemeni group started attacking commerce on one of the busiest maritime routes in the world were three seafarers who perished in a Houthi missile assault on a Red Sea commercial ship on Wednesday, according to British and US sources. Around fifty nautical miles off the coast of Yemen’s port of Aden, the Greek-owned ship True Confidence, flying the Barbados flag, caught fire. The Houthis claimed credit for the incident.

The first deadly Houthi strike on Red Sea ships claimed the lives of three “innocent seafarers.” Earlier, Britain’s embassy responded directly to the Houthi allegation in a statement on X, writing: “At least 2 innocent sailors have died.” This was the unfortunate but unavoidable result of the Houthis’ careless missile shooting against foreign ships. They have to quit.” “Our deepest condolences are with the families of those who have died and those who were wounded.”

Houthi assault on ships
Two sailors’ deaths were also verified by a top US official. Since November, the Houthis have been assaulting ships in the Red Sea, claiming that their actions are part of a campaign to show support for Palestinians enduring the conflict in Gaza. Retaliatory attacks on the Houthis have been carried out by the United States and Britain, and the confirmation of the deaths may increase calls for more forceful military action.

A maritime source had earlier reported that a missile had struck the ship, leaving four sailors gravely burned and three missing. The True Confidence’s Greek operators said that the ship was attacked and set on fire while drifting around 50 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Aden. They said that no details on the whereabouts of the twenty crew members and three armed guards—fifteen Filipinos, four Vietnamese, two Sri Lankans, an Indian, and a Nepali—on board were known.

According to a US defense official, smoke could be seen emanating from True Confidence. A lifeboat had been seen in the sea close to the ship, the official, who also asked not to be named, told Reuters.

What the UKMTO states
54 nautical miles southwest of Aden, which is close to the Red Sea entry, is where the incident was reported, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency. It was said that the crew had abandoned the vessel and that it was “no longer under command.”. “Coalition forces are supporting the vessel and the crew,” said the UKMTO.

After floating for two weeks with significant damage from a missile assault, the UK-owned bulk carrier Rubymar became the first vessel to sink as a consequence of a Houthi attack four days ago. That ship’s crew was all safely evacuated.

In an effort to safeguard ships, the United States and Britain have initiated retaliatory attacks on the Houthis; serious harm or deaths among merchant crew may prompt demands for more forceful action.

Due to the disruption caused by the Houthi strikes, companies are now forced to reroute their cargo to more costly and time-consuming routes in southern Africa. A seven-day trip across the Red Sea now costs hundreds of thousands of dollars more to insure.

All ships might be in danger, according to sources in the shipping sector, despite the militia’s declaration that it would target ships with connections to Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom. According to the joint statement from both companies, True Confidence is owned by True Confidence Shipping, a business registered in Liberia, and is managed by Third January Maritime, located in Greece. They maintained that there was no connection between the ship and the US.