First casualties feared in Red Sea shipping crisis as crew abandon missile-struck bulker

The Barbados-flagged, 50,448 dwt bulker True Confidence was damaged in a missile attack off Yemen with several crew members missing.

According to a number of reports, three crew members are missing while four others have sustained serious burns from the explosion.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency reported that a nearby vessel reported an explosion near the bulker and a large plume of smoke. The vessel was first hailed by an entity declaring itself as the “Yemeni Navy” ordering it to alter course. It turned around and began sailing in a south-easterly heading before starting to drift. The True Confidence is currently drifting some 100 km southwest of Aden.

Also, the vessel stopped transmitting its AIS signal once it started drifting. UKMTO advised merchant vessels to stay clear of the bulker as it coincides with the Houthi targeting profile, although they have not yet taken responsibility for the incident. Vessels were further advised to proceed with caution and to report any unusual activity.

Rescue and salvage operations are underway and some of the crew members were already in lifeboats with Coalition Forces supporting the damaged vessel. Before the attack, True Confidence was heading to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia from Lianyungang, China.

It is currently unclear as to why the vessel was targeted. Namely, it is owned by a Liberian company True Confidence Shipping and is operated by Greek-based Third January Maritime. It has no current connection with any US or Israeli firm. It does have a prior link to a US company, Oaktree Capital Management, which was the vessel’s previous owner.

Even though the Houthis have not commented on the attack, the group has been targeting vessels off Yemen in support of the Palestinians in their conflict with Israel. Over the weekend, the Rubymar general cargo vessel became the first constructive total loss of the Red Sea shipping crisis.

The ship, carrying a cargo of 21,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser, was struck by missiles fired by the Houthi rebels on February 18. On Saturday the ship sunk with Ambrey suggesting that a couple of days prior there had been another attack on the vessel.