Three killed in Houthi attack on cargo ship off Yemeni coast

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The campaign of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on commercial ships claimed its first fatalities on Wednesday when a strike on a Barbados-flagged dry bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden left three seafarers dead and four injured.

The death toll on the True Confidence, sold days ago by US private equity group Oaktree Capital, came in a statement from the US military’s central command (Centcom). The Houthi rebel group claimed responsibility for the attack hours earlier.

While the Houthis have attacked more than 40 ships since the start of their campaign in November, there had previously been no serious injuries to mariners. The most serious previous assault, on February 19, led to the sinking of the dry bulk carrier Rubymar. Its crew all abandoned ship safely.

Centcom wrote on the social media platform X that an anti-ship ballistic missile had been launched towards the vessel at 11.30am local time.

“The missile struck the vessel, and the multinational crew reports three fatalities, at least four injuries, of which three are in critical condition, and significant damage to the ship,” it said.

The Houthis’ official spokesman, Yahya Sare’e, claimed the attack, calling the True Confidence an “American ship”.

Sare’e renewed the claim by the group, which has Iranian backing, to be acting in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

The US condemned the attack on the True Confidence and urged other countries to do the same and join Washington in helping to bring the continuing attacks to an end.

“These reckless attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis have not only disrupted global trade and commerce, but also taken the lives of international seafarers simply doing their jobs,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “[We] condemn the Houthis for these attacks and we will call on governments around the world to do the same and join us in…