What tracking data tells us about latest Houthi attack on cargo vessel – by Adam Parker, OSINT editor
At around 0001 UTC on Wednesday morning, Barbados-flagged cargo vessel True Confidence was in the Gulf of Aden and unexpectedly changed course to head away from the Red Sea.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the ship had been receiving messages claiming to be from the Yemeni Navy. The messages were being sent for around 30 minutes and were ordering the merchant ship to change its course.
At 0341 UTC Wednesday, True Confidence was slowing and came to a stop in the minutes after.
Tracking data from MarineTraffic shows the last known location of the ship was around 0429 UTC.
Since the start of Houthi attacks in the region, it’s common for ships to turn off their tracking when travelling through the Red Sea.
The UKMTO said the incident started at 0840 UTC, about 50 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Port of Aden. Other vessels in the area reported ‘a loud bang, and a large plume of smoke’.
They later reported that a vessel had been hit and suffered damage. They also said True Confidence had been abandoned by the crew.
The Indian Navy released a rescue video of 21 crew, they say they arrived at the location at 1345 UTC.
Source Agencies
