When the Iran-backed Houthi militia launched an attack on a boat off the coast of Yemen that killed three sailors and injured several more on Wednesday, the Indian Navy deployed one of its warships to rescue the crew.
Indian destroyer Kolkata has reached crew members from the True Confidence, the vessel that was hit in the Gulf of Aden, according to the Indian Navy’s social media account and videos it posted online. Some sailors appear to have been picked up by helicopters from lifeboats and taken to Calcutta, according to a video released by the Indian Navy.
The crew, according to the Indian Navy, was evacuated to Djibouti, which is located on the east coast of Africa, across the Bab el-Madeb Strait from the coast of Yemen. Djibouti’s port authority posted photos on social media of the arrival of the crew, some with visible injuries.
The three sailors killed on Wednesday were the first deaths from Houthi attacks since the group began targeting ships passing through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Houthis said their campaign was an expression of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza under attack by Israel and retaliation for counter-attacks against them, which they described as “US-British aggression”.
Houthi attacks have recently become more intense. Last week, the Rubymar, a British-owned merchant ship attacked by the Houthis, became the first of their targets to sink.
The Houthi attacks threaten a fragile global economy still recovering from the pandemic and suffering disruptions from the war in Ukraine.
The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden serve as a major shipping route for India and dozens of other exporters. And the Suez Canal, located at the northwestern end of the Red Sea, handles about 12 percent of world trade. Many ships have also been rerouted to Suez because the Panama Canal, another major access point for global trade, is able to handle fewer ships than usual due to drought-induced low water levels.
Egypt’s revenue from Suez Canal crossings has halved since the start of the Houthi attacks, contributing to the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.
There are also vital communication cables connecting Asia to the West across the Red Sea, some of which have recently been damaged for unknown reasons. The Houthis, who have been suspected, have denied responsibility, but concerns that the attacks could disrupt the global internet have grown.
The United States has established an international task force to protect merchant shipping in the region and with its allies, including Britain, has launched missile attacks on Houthi targets inside Yemen. Last month, the State Department designated the Houthis a terrorist organization.
On Wednesday, the Treasury Department issued sanctions intended to cut off the flow of money from Iran to the Houthis, and State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States would continue to work with its allies to prevent further attacks. . It was not clear what actions might be involved.
While India, which maintains friendly ties with Iran, has not joined the US-led task force in the Red Sea, its navy has responded to several ships threatened by Houthi attacks in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden . It has also increased its presence in the region by sending more warships there, according to the Wall Street Journal.
