Ship with Chinese steel hit by missiles in Houthis' first fatal attack; two sailors killed

A Barbados-flagged Saudi-bound dry bulk carrier with Chinese steel products was hit by missiles in the Gulf of Aden and suffered damage March 6 in what turned out to be the Houthis' first fatal attack, with at least two crew members killed and some reportedly missing and injured.

When attacked, the Supramax was shipping 42,082 mt of steel products from Tiajin, China, to Jeddah, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations said on its website that the ship was hit and damaged 54 nautical miles southwest of Aden, Yemen and that vessels in the vicinity reported "a loud bang" with "a large plume of smoke sighted." It added that "coalition forces are supporting."

The incident occurred after the ship was hailed over and ordered to alter course by the Yemeni Navy, part of the Iran-backed Houthi rebel forces in Yemen. Earlier this month a Houthi official reportedly said ships would need to obtain a permit from the militant group for transiting via Yemeni waters.

On a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Houthis said that missiles were fired at the "American ship" True Confidence, a 2011-built, 50,448-dwt bulk carrier flagged in Barbados.

"The strike was accurate, led to a fire breaking out on it," a Houthi spokesperson said. "The targeting operation came after the ship's crew rejected warning messages from the Yemeni naval forces."

The vessel was previously owned by US-based Oaktree Capital and has been operated by Greek firm Third January Maritime and managed by Hong Kong's Fleet Management, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, but its current owner cannot be identified.

The British Embassy in Yemen said on X that "at least two innocent sailors died" due to the Houthi attack. Some media reports said three crew members went missing while four suffered serious burns, and that the rest of the crew was rescued.

Fleet Management did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the attack, that left the largest number of human casualties since the Houthis started to attack merchant ships in the Red Sea and surrounding areas in November 2023.

China has been exporting a lot of steel to Middle East. The country exported about 3 million mt steel to Saudi Arabia in 2023, up 30% on the year, according to the research firm CEIC.

Conflicts

On March 5, the US Central Command said their forces shot down one anti-ship ballistic missile and three one-way attack unmanned aerial systems the Houthis launched at USS Carney, a destroyer, in the Red Sea.

Houthi Al-Masirah TV reported the US and UK carried out five airstrikes on several areas in Hodeidah on the same day.

"The increase in naval presence from multiple countries and the land-attacks performed by US and UK forces on Houthi positions in Yemen over almost two months have not led to a decrease in attacks on merchant vessels," consultancy Vespucci Maritime CEO Lars Jensen said on LinkedIn.

Houthi militants have attacked dozens of ships since the Hamas-Israel war broke out on Oct. 7, claiming to be targeting US-, UK- and Israel-linked vessels in support of Palestinians.

The general cargo ship 32,211-dwt Rubymar is the first and only ship lost in the attacks so far. It sank in the Red Sea on March 2, nearly two weeks after being severely damaged by a Houthi missile, but the crew was rescued and unharmed.

On Nov. 19, the NYK-chartered car carrier Galaxy Leader was kidnapped by the Houthis along with 25 crew members. They have not been released.

The shipping crisis has offered support to energy prices, freight rates and insurance premiums in various traders, though some industry participants said the impact has been largely reflected in the current market pricings.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the rate to carry 40,000 mt of clean petroleum products on a medium range tanker from the Persian Gulf to the UK Continent at $68.75/mt March 6, down from $106.5/mt on Feb. 1. This compares to $51.25/mt on Oct. 2, 2023.

Many ship operators have diverted their voyages from the Red Sea to the longer route around the southern tip of Africa due to safety worries. According to IMF PortWatch data, average daily ship transits via the Bab al-Mandab Strait stood at 32 in the week to March 4, down from the year-ago level of 75. This was just above a multi-year low of 29 on March 1.