Things are simmering in the Middle East and the Houthi rebels have been hindering trade in the Red Sea with a spate of sudden attacks for some time. A Navy rescue operation is underway to rescue the crew of a Barbados-flagged, American-owned ship that was attacked by Houthi rebels southwest of Aden. This was announced by the maritime safety company Ambrey, stating that the cargo ship had “sustained damage” and that part of “the crew was already in the lifeboats”. “Ambrey observed an Indian Navy naval vessel sailing near the last known position of the stricken vessel. Further reports indicated that rescue operations were underway,” he added. Three crew members of the ship True Confidence are missing and four others have suffered serious burns after the cargo ship was hit and damaged off the coast of Yemen.
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The news was reported by Portal, which cited a source saying the ship appeared to have been abandoned. The shipowner said the ship was hit just over 90 km southwest of Aden, presumably by a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The cargo ship was afloat due to a fire on board, the owner added, saying no information was available about the 20 crew members and three armed guards on board. Meanwhile, an expert from Ispra will offer support in addressing the environmental emergency related to the ship that sank in the Red Sea. Ispra reports this on its website. “Luigi Alcaro from Ispra – we read – was selected by the Center for the Coordination of Emergency Responses of the European Commission among the various candidates at international level to assist the Yemeni authorities in dealing with the environmental emergency resulting from the demise of the engine Ship Rubymar and thus its pollution after the terrorist attack by the Houthis on February 18th. The Ispra expert is “called to assess the risk of damage to marine ecosystems resulting from the possible release into the sea of the fuel and fertilizer cargo on board (approximately 28,000 tons) and to formulate hypotheses for interventions on the wreck.” “mitigate the consequences of the release of environmentally harmful substances”.