A day after the Yemeni Houthi’s first deadly attack on a commercial vessel, the Indian Navy posted a dramatic three-minute video of how it rescued the survivors.
In the footage released early on Thursday, a navy helicopter is seen hauling crew members from a life raft in the Gulf of Aden, following the missile strike against the 50,448-dwt True Confidence (built 2011).
Twenty seafarers were on board at the time of the attack, comprising 15 Filipinos, four Vietnamese and one Indian — protected by three armed guards from Sri Lanka and Nepal.
As TradeWinds previously reported, two Filipinos and one Vietnamese were killed and a further two Filipinos suffered serious injuries.
Some injured personnel can be seen briefly in the footage, as they await evacuation in an Indian Navy boat and when they later receive medical treatment on board the Indian Navy’s INS Kolkata.
Images from the seafarers’ subsequent night-time evacuation and disembarkment to Djibouti can be seen as well.
The International Maritime Organization has condemned the attack.
“Innocent seafarers should never become collateral victims,” its secretary general Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement released overnight on Thursday.
“I once again call for collective action to fortify the safety of those who serve at sea.
“International trade depends on international shipping and international shipping cannot go on without seafarers,” Dominguez added.
The Houthis appear to have targeted the True Confidence because of perceived links to US-based Oaktree Capital Management.
The investment giant had previously controlled the vessel but no longer has any association after refinancing, databases show. A statement issued by the owners and managers also denied any current connections with any US entity.
The ship was under the ownership of a Liberian single-ship company True Confidence Shipping from late February, according to Equasis, and is operated by Greece-based minor player Third January Maritime Ltd, which manages a fleet of three vessels.
TradeWinds understands that even though the company is registered in Piraeus, the interests behind it are Middle Eastern.
