India’s navy evacuated all 20 crew from a stricken vessel in the Red Sea on Thursday, after a Houthi attack killed three seafarers in the first civilian fatalities from the Yemeni group’s campaign in the key shipping route.
The Iran-aligned militants fired a missile at the Barbados-flagged, Greek-operated True Confidence on Wednesday about 50 nautical miles off the port of Aden, setting it ablaze.
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. Two of the dead were Filipino nationals, while the third was Vietnamese, the owners and managers said, expressing condolences to the families. Two other Filipinos were also severely injured.
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 Houthis have kept up a relentless campaign of attacks on vessels in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes since November, in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians amid Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
“The loss of life and injuries to civilian seafarers is completely unacceptable,” leading global shipping associations said on Thursday.
“The frequency of attacks on merchant shipping highlights the urgent need for all stakeholders to take decisive action.”
The Houthis have used an array of sophisticated weapons, including ballistic missiles and “kamikaze drones”, despite retaliatory US and UK-led strikes on their bases in Yemen aimed at crippling their ability to attack.
Stephen Cotton, General Secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, the leading seafarers union, also called for better protection.
“We call on the industry to divert ships around the Cape of Good Hope until safe transit through the Red Sea can be guaranteed,” he said.
Around 23 000 ships a year pass through the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the Suez Canal, accounting for around 12% of global trade.
Taking the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa adds about 10 days to the journey, delaying supply chains and pushing up costs.
For those still risking the shorter seven-day route via the Red Sea, the cost of insuring a vessel has risen by hundreds of thousands of dollars since the attacks began.
The True Confidence was sailing from China to Jeddah and Aqaba with a cargo of steel products and trucks.
The vessel is owned by Liberia-registered True Confidence Shipping SA and operated by Greece-based Third January Maritime. There is no current connection with any US entity, the companies said.
Meanwhile, a Hamas delegation left Cairo on Thursday, but would continue with Gaza ceasefire talks until an agreement is reached with Israel, the Palestinian group said in a statement, with a Hamas official blaming Israel for the lack of progress.
Senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, said Israel had been “thwarting” efforts to conclude a ceasefire deal mediated by Qatar and Egypt during four days of talks hosted by Cairo.
Abu Zuhri said Israel was rejecting Hamas’s demands to end its offensive in the enclave, withdraw its forces, and ensure freedom of entry for aid and the return of displaced people. There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Negotiators from Hamas, Qatar and Egypt, but not Israel, have tried this week to secure a 40-day ceasefire in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadaan, which begins early next week.
The deal presented to Hamas for Gaza would free some of the hostages it still holds following the October 7 attack, in which Israel said 1 200 people were killed and 253 abducted. Palestinian prisoners held in Israel would also be released.
Hamas pledged to continue the Cairo talks, but officials in the Palestinian militant group said a ceasefire must be in place before hostages are freed, Israeli forces must leave Gaza and all Gazans must be able to return to homes they have fled.
A source had earlier said Israel was staying away from the Cairo talks because Hamas refused to provide a list of hostages who are still alive.
Hamas says this is impossible without a ceasefire as hostages are scattered across the war zone.
Despite earlier comments negotiations were at an impasse, the US said a truce accord was still possible.
Health officials in Gaza said the number of people confirmed killed in Israel’s offensive had now passed 30 800. It reported 83 deaths in the past 24 hours and witnesses said the Israeli bombardments continued in Khan Younis, the southern city of Rafah, and areas in central Gaza.
They said Israel had on Thursday returned 47 bodies of Palestinians killed earlier in the offensive.
Reuters