The United States bulk carrier “True Confidence,” previously owned by US private equity group Oaktree Capital, has experienced significant damage following a missile attack by Iranian-backed Houthis earlier this year. Shocking new images of the heavily damaged vessel have surfaced on social media platforms, revealing the extensive destruction inflicted upon it during the attack.
On March 6, Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile that struck the bulk carrier, prompting the US military’s Central Command (Centcom) to confirm the attack and release two images of the heavily damaged ship. After the attack, the Houthis claimed they targeted the vessel because it was “American,” a claim the owners vehemently denied. Interestingly, Oaktree Capital had sold the ship just days before the attack to Liberia-registered True Confidence SA, which is owned and managed by Third January Maritime of Piraeus, Greece.
This latest incident in the Gulf of Aden took place on Sunday when a missile hit the forward station of another cargo ship. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that “Damage Control Underway” was taking place aboard the vessel. This attack comes six months into the Biden administration’s Operation Prosperity Guardian, which aims to defend the critical maritime chokepoint of Bab al-Mandab Strait. The operation has proven disastrous so far and serves as a reflection of the current administration’s weak foreign policy stance.
