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.