Attack Hits a Ship, Causing the First 'Fatalities' in Gulf of Aden
A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthis on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden caused "fatalities" and forced the crew to abandon the vessel on Wednesday, authorities said. But a shipping source said three sailors were missing from the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier, and four others were badly burned. The attack Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden targeted a Barbados-flagged bulk carrier called True Confidence, which earlier had been hailed over radio by individuals claiming to be the Yemeni military, officials said. The Houthis have been hailing ships over the radio in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since launching their attacks. An explosion in the vicinity of a Barbados-flagged cargo ship off the port of Aden in southern Yemen was reported by a nearby vessel, British security firm Ambrey said on Wednesday. The Houthi attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
A U.S. Navy destroyer shot down drones and a missile launched by Yemen's Houthis toward the vessel in the Red Sea, officials said Wednesday. The U.S. Central Command said the Houthi's Tuesday assault had targeted the USS Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that's been involved in the U.S.-led campaign against the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels, who call their attacks a response to Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Yemen's Houthis carried out a "qualitative military operation in which they targeted two U.S. warship destroyers in the Red Sea," the group's military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech on Tuesday. He said the ships were targeted with a number of naval missiles and drones.
Italian lawmakers on Tuesday approved the country's participation in an E.U. naval mission to protect cargo ship in the Red Sea from attacks by Houthis in Yemen threatening maritime traffic. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told lawmakers before the vote that the mission, launched last month, is strictly defensive, but that Italian ships would have the power to defend themselves. On Saturday, the Italian destroyer Caio Duilio shot down a drone launched by Houthis in a strait between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.
Iranian authorities have confiscated the American cargo of an oil tanker seized last year after US-led sanctions prevented the entry of medication into the Islamic Republic, the judiciary said Wednesday. The Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet was seized in April 2023 while sailing in the Gulf of Oman, a key route for the oil industry. The vessel, chartered by Chevron Corp, had picked up oil from Kuwait and was bound for Texas before it was seized, an Advantage Tankers spokesperson said at the time.
