2 Filipino, 1 Vietnamese sailor killed in first fatal Houthi attack on merchant ship
M/V True Confidence’s managers say rest of crew taken to Djibouti; Manila working to figure out condition of others who were on board, repatriate them
Two Filipino and a Vietnamese crew member were identified as those killed in a missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a ship in the Gulf of Aden, the vessel’s managers said Thursday.
Those killed in the attack on Wednesday appear to be the first deaths resulting from Houthi attacks on merchant vessels transiting the key Red Sea trade route.
“One Vietnamese and two Filipino crew members have lost their lives,” a statement from the owners and managers of the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned M/V True Confidence said early Thursday. “A further two Filipino crew members have suffered serious injuries. All crew members were taken to Djibouti.”
The Philippine government confirmed their nationals’ deaths and injuries.
Manila is liaising with the ship owners and its crewing agency “to ascertain the conditions of the rest of the ship’s crew” and to repatriate them, the department said.
An anti-ship ballistic missile struck the True Confidence, after which its crew reported “three fatalities, at least four injuries, of which three are in critical condition, and significant damage to the ship,” the US Central Command said in a statement.
The ship’s managers and owners said the ship was manned by 20 workers, comprising one Indian, 15 Filipino, and four Vietnamese crew members. Three armed guards, two from Sri Lanka and one from Nepal, also were on board. The ship had been carrying steel from China to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on social media that the True Confidence was targeted with missiles “after the ship’s crew rejected warning messages” from the rebels.
Stephen Cotton, general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the leading seafarers union, called for urgent action to protect its members.
“We have consistently warned the international community and the maritime industry about the escalating risks faced by seafarers in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. Today… we see those warnings tragically confirmed,” Cotton said.
Four days ago, the Rubymar, a UK-owned bulk carrier, became the first ship to sink as a result of a Houthi attack, after floating for two weeks with severe damage from a missile strike. All crew were safely evacuated from that vessel.
The Iran-backed group began attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea last November, a campaign they say is intended to signal solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, after Israel launched a war against Hamas following the terror’s group’s murderous October 7 assault.
The Houthi attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa. The cost of insuring a seven-day voyage through the Red Sea has risen by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
While the militia has said it would attack vessels with links to the United Kingdom, the United States, and Israel, shipping industry sources say all ships could be at risk.
The True Confidence is owned by the Liberian-registered company True Confidence Shipping and operated by the Greece-based Third January Maritime, both companies said in their joint statement. They said the ship had no link to the United States.
Manila is still seeking the release of 17 Filipinos taken hostage by the Houthis in November after the rebels seized their ship in the Red Sea.
