Among 3 killed in 1st fatal Houthi attack on Red Sea shipping
TWO Filipino seafarers died while other crew members were injured in a missile attack launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a Red Sea merchant ship on Wednesday.
A third foreign crewmember died in the attack that set the Greek-owned, Barbados-flagged ship True Confidence ablaze.
They are the first fatalities reported since the Iran-aligned Houthis began strikes against shipping in one of the world’s busiest trade lanes. The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November in what they say is a campaign in solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza.
Britain and the United States have been launching retaliatory strikes against the Houthis, and the confirmation of fatalities could lead to pressure for stronger military action.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirmed the Filipino fatalities and said it has been informed that two other Filipino seamen were injured.
The DMW also said it is coordinating with the ship’s manning agency and the shipowner for the repatriation of remaining Filipino crewmen.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said there were three injured Filipino crewmembers.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega also said the next of kin of the two fatalities were already informed.
“There are 13 other Filipino seafarers who have been brought to Djibouti (in East Africa) including three injured ones. They have no documentation as it was left on ship,” he said.
He said the DFA has asked the Philippine Embassy in Cairo to send a team to Djibouti to assist them.
“Our embassy in Cairo is in charge of our relations with Djibouti,” he said.
Reports late yesterday said India’s navy evacuated all 20 crew men.
In a statement, the owners and manager said all 20 crew and three armed guards on board were taken to hospital in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa by an Indian warship.
They said two of the dead were Filipino nationals, while the third was Vietnamese. Two other Filipinos were also severely injured, they said.
Images released by the Indian Navy showed a helicopter winching crew members from a small life raft in choppy seas and taking them to a naval ship.
Some wounded were shown lying in the bottom of a navy lifeboat sent to assist. They were carried on stretchers onto the ship and were shown later with heavily bandaged limbs as they were evacuated to the Djibouti hospital.
“The vessel is drifting well away from land and salvage arrangements are being made,” the companies said in the statement.
The DMW reiterated its call to shipowners with ships navigating the volatile sea lanes to comply strictly with the expanded “high risk areas” designation, and to implement risk mitigation measures such as rerouting vessels and deploying armed security personnel onboard said vessels.
Last year, 17 Filipino seafarers were among those held hostage by Houthi rebels when they seized a cargo vessel in the Red Sea.
The Greek operators of the True Confidence said the vessel was drifting and on fire.
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the Wednesday attack around 50 nautical miles off the coast of Yemen’s port of Aden, which was reported by the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
A US defense official said smoke was seen coming from the True Confidence. The official, who also declined to be identified, told Reuters a lifeboat had been seen in the water near the ship.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received a report of an incident 54 nautical miles southwest of Aden, which lies near the entrance to the Red Sea, adding the vessel had been abandoned by the crew and was “no longer under command.”
“Coalition forces are supporting the vessel and the crew,” UKMTO said.
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. — With Ashzel Hachero and Reuters