The fate of the crew is uncertain when a freighter is attacked off the coast of Yemen. Two sailors are said to have been killed.
A freighter was attacked off the coast of Yemen. According to the ship’s owner, the “True Confidence” was hit by a missile. The fate of the crew is uncertain.
There were 20 sailors and three armed security guards on board. There is no information about what happened to them. The Washington Post, citing US government officials, reports that two sailors were killed. The burning freighter is floating in the sea. According to information from shipping circles, three sailors are missing. Four other crew members suffered serious burns, an industry representative told Reuters.
There is no confession yet
The freighter was hit by a missile 50 miles (approx. 80 km) southwest of the Yemeni port city of Aden, the owner company True Confidence Shipping and the operator Third January Maritime said. The ship sailed under the flag of Barbados. There is currently no connection to the USA.
There was initially no commitment to an attack on a ship in the region. Houthi rebels from Yemen have repeatedly attacked commercial ships in recent months – according to them, in solidarity with the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, against which the Israeli military has been operating since the radical Islamic terrorists attacked Israel at the beginning of October. Recently, the tanker “Rubymar” sank off the coast of Yemen after an attack. Here you can read more about it.
The attacks on ships in the Red Sea have prompted major shipping companies such as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to avoid the Middle East maritime area. Instead of taking the shortest route from Asia to Europe through the Suez Canal, many ships take a detour via the southern tip of Africa. This leads to delays and higher costs for shipping companies, but also causes freight rates to rise. Under the leadership of Greece, the EU wants to protect merchant ships from further attacks by the Houthi rebels. For this purpose, Germany sent the frigate “Hessen” in February, which has already been involved in combat operations.