The death of three crew members aboard the True Confidence following a Houthi attack earlier this month has prompted the International Bargaining Forum’s (IBF) Warlike Operations Area Committee to designate the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden ‘warlike’ to emphasise the seriousness of the situation.
In addition to the three deaths aboard the True Confidence, three out of four additional individuals sustained critical injuries in the missile attack.
“Our first priority is the safety of seafarers,” said the IBF, which was set up as a process in which maritime employers and seafarers’ unions could negotiate over the wages and conditions of employment of seafarers serving on ships to which International Transport Workers Federation special agreements apply.
“Ships transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are Houthi missile targets, putting seafarers’ lives in grave danger. We strongly urge charterers, operators and shipowners to avoid passage through the area until there is no risk to the safety of seafarers from further attacks,” a spokesman said.
“In the meantime, this body is calling for the diversion of vessels, avoiding the sailing through the Newly Established Warlike Area.”
The IBF Warlike Operations Area had been 12 nautical miles off the mainland Yemeni Coast. The latest decision expands the warlike area to cover the previously declared high-risk area, which included the southern section of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, stretching across to the Eritrea coast. The area encompasses the Bab El Mandeb Strait including the Maritime Security Transit Corridor in its entirety within the Gulf of Aden.
