U.S. Ship Hit By Houthis On Fire, killing two: A United States-owned cargo ship attack by the Yemeni Houthis (Ansar Allah) on March 6 has caught fire and some of its crew were killed or wounded.
The deaths are the first in a months-long campaign against Israeli, US and UK shipping
Eight people were injured, two of them fatally, when Yemeni missiles struck the merchant vessel True Confidence in the Gulf of Aden, the US military said on Wednesday. The crew had to abandon ship, which is at risk of sinking.
The Houthis, styling themselves the government of Yemen, began targeting Israeli-linked ships in late October, protesting the military operation against the Palestinians in Gaza. They added American and British ships in January, after the two countries launched air and missile strikes against Yemen.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree confirmed the attack on Wednesday evening, saying that the True Confidence was struck “after the ship’s crew ignored the Yemeni naval forces’ warning messages.”
“The strike was precise, by the grace of Allah, leading to a fire outbreak on board,” Saree said.
He also warned all ships “to respond to the calls of the Yemeni naval forces, and all crews of the targeted ships must quickly depart after the first strike.”
Two members of the True Confidence crew were killed and six injured in multiple missile strikes, according to two Pentagon officials who spoke to the press on condition of anonymity. There were no Americans on board, they said.
An Indian warship that was nearby took in the 23 crew members who evacuated the cargo vessel. US officials described the True Confidence as “damaged but has not sunk yet.”
Maritime tracking showed True Confidence on approach to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday evening before making a sharp turn back towards the Gulf of Aden. The vessel was registered in Liberia, which is a popular flag of convenience for merchant ships, but its owner has been reported as the US-based multinational Oaktree Capital Management LLC.
Earlier this week, the British-owned bulk carrier Rubymar sank in the Gulf of Aden, almost two weeks after being struck by Houthi missiles and evacuated. It was the first ship sunk by the Houthis since the beginning of their campaign.
Most Western shipping companies have rerouted their traffic around Africa in response to the Houthi attacks, which have driven up insurance premiums.
The Houthis initially fired warning shots only at vessels owned by, or headed towards, Israel. They expanded the targeting list in mid-January, after the first US-UK strikes. Undeterred, the Yemeni group has declared it will end its operations only when Israel stops attacking Gaza.
The Houthis military spokesman, Brigade General Yahya Sarea, said in a statement that the Barbados-flagged True Confidence was targeted in the Gulf of Aden with “a number of suitable naval missiles” in support of the “oppressed Palestinian people” and in response to “American and British aggression” against Yemen.
“The targeting operation came after the ship’s crew rejected warning messages from the Yemeni naval forces,” the spokesman said, advising all ships to respond to the calls of the group and calling on crews to quickly evacuate if they were hit.
The attack on True Confidence was first reported by the British security firm Ambrey and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a Royal Navy detachment that watches over Middle East waterways, also reported the incident.
Following the Houthis’ announcement, U.S. officials confirmed to CNN that the ship was struck by anti-ship ballistic missiles launched from Yemen.
Two of True Confidence’s crew were killed and six others were injured, according to the officials, who said that the ship has since been abandoned and U.S.-led coalition warships are now in the area assessing the situation.
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have targeted dozens of Israel-affiliated vessels and others owned by the U.S. and the United Kingdom in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 19 in response to the ongoing Israeli war and siege on the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
The attack on True Confidencen marked the first time that the group has killed anyone as part of their ongoing naval operations.
The U.S. and the UK have already struck more than 200 targets in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in an attempt to deter the group, who only demanded the end of siege and war on Gaza. The use of force has not only failed to deter the group, but also made the situation way more complicated for shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Houthis Humiliate US Navy
The Iranian-backed Houthis (Ansar Allah) continue to hit Israel-affiliated ships and others linked to the United States and the United Kingdom in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in response to the Israeli war and siege on the Gaza Strip, embarrassing the U.S. Navy which has so far failed to secure waters near Yemen.
On March 2, MV Rubymar, a Belize-flagged, UK-owned bulk carrier, sank in the Red Sea after being struck by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile last month. The ship was the first to be sunk by the Houthis since the start of the current confrontation.
On the same day, Italian destroyer Caio Duilio shot down a Houthi missile over the Red Sea. The missile was within 4 miles of the destroyer before it was shot down.
On March 4, the Houthis struck the cargo ship MSC Sky II in the Gulf of Aden using an anti-ship ballistic missile. The group claimed that the ship was owned by Israel and said that several U.S. warships were targeted on the same day.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on the same day that its forces carried out strikes against two anti-ship cruise missiles in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.
Also on the same day, several undersea cables in the Red Sea were reportedly cut, which resulted in disruption to telecommunications networks in the Middle East. The Houthis were blamed for the incident, but didn’t official claim responsibility.
The strikes failed to deter the Houthis, who announced on March 5 that they had launched multiple missile and drone attacks against two U.S. Navy warships in the Red Sea.
CENTCOM said later that its forces shot down one anti-ship ballistic missile and three suicide drones which were heading toward USS Carney in the Red Sea. There are no injuries or damage to the ship.
It also said in the same statement that its forces destroyed three anti-ship missiles and three unmanned surface vessels in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
The Houthis hit again on March 6, by firing several anti-ship ballistic missiles at the Barbados-flagged, U.S.-owned cargo ship True Confidence in the Gulf of Aden. A fire broke out aboard the ship as a result of the attack, causing the crew to abandon the vessel. Three crew members were killed and four others sustained serious burns from the fire. This was the first time a Houthi attack caused casualties.
Overall, the Houthis’ military campaign in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden has humiliated the U.S. Navy and its allies, who have clearly failed to secure waters near Yemen. In fact, Washington’s decision to use military force has only made the situation worse for shipping. Now, the only option left for the U.S. may be to listen to the Houthis demands and help end the war, or at least the siege on Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinains have been killed so far.
British Ship Hit By Houthis Sinks In Red Sea
A United Kingdom-owned cargo ship attacked by Yemen Houthis (Ansar Allah) last month sank in the Red Sea, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on March 3.
The Belize-flagged Rubymar leaked oil for several days after it was attacked with anti-ship ballistic missiles on February 18 while sailing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. At the time, the crew abandoned the vessel and evacuated to nearby Djibouti.
CENTCOM posted an image showing the ship on its side on the X social platform and said it went under at 2:15am local time on March 2.
“The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “As the ship sinks it also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway.”
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a Royal Navy detachment that watches over Middle East waterways, separately also acknowledged the Rubymar’s sinking, according to The Associated Press news agency.
Rubymar is the first ship to sink since the Houthis began targeting Israel-affiliated ships and others linked to the U.S. and the UK in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden last November using missiles and drones in response to the Israeli war and siege on the Gaza Strip.
The group’s repeated attacks forced shipping firms to divert ships to the longer route around southern Africa, disrupting global trade by delaying deliveries and sending costs higher.
The U.S. and the UK launched hundreds of strikes against Houthis-controlled areas in Yemen in response to these attacks. However, the group remains unfettered.
On March 2, the UKMTO said that it had received a report of a ship being attacked 15 nautical miles west of the Yemeni port of Mokha.
“The crew took the vessel to anchor and were evacuated by military authorities,” the organization said in an advisory note.
On the same day, the Italian Ministry of Defense announced that one of its naval ships had shot down a drone flying towards it in the Red Sea.