TRUE CONFIDENCE

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Odyssey of damaged bulk carrier going on

The tug 'Red Bull' was deployed to assist the 'True Confidence' after receiving notice of the attack on March 6 at around 6.30 p.m. The tug, stationed in the port of Aden, was ordinarily used for towing old vessels to Pakistan and India to be scrapped. The 'Red Bull' then scoured the area while communicating its position to the US Navy so that it didn’t mistakenly identify it as a hostile vessel. At around 1 a.m. on March 8, the crew spotted a light on the 'True Confidence'. Smoke was still billowing from the ship. The tug’s crew tackled the blaze and then used ropes with hooks to scale up the side of the vessel. The task was made harder by the barbed wire that lined the sides of the vessel at the deck level, presumably installed as a last line of defense against pirates. Parts of the ship were blisteringly hot because of the fire. The crew of the 'Red Bull' connected the tug to the damaged ship, but progress was hampered by a second attack. On the morning of March 9, four combat drones headed toward the 'True Confidence'. A French frigate that sailed nearby and its fighter jets destroyed the drones. The US Navy instructed the 'Red Bull' to switch off its tracking system while it was towing the vessel to safety. However, they only sailed around five miles before the engine of the 'Red Bull' suffered a serious malfunction, and fixing the problem would have required a specialist team. As the 'True Confidence' drifted toward Somalia at the speed of about 1-2 knots, the search for a replacement tug became more frantic. The tug 'Hercules' was found, butit was under US sanctions that cited its owners links to Iran. The owner of the 'True Confidence' received special permission from the US Office of Foreign Asset Control on March 12 to use the 'Hercules' in the salvage mission, owner True Confidence Shipping SA and operator Third January Maritime Ltd. said in a joint statement on March 21. The 'Hercules' was instructed to tow the 'True Confidence' to Djibouti. But weather conditions soon worsened and the choppy waters broke the tow line between the vessels. Once the ships were reconnected. they set off again for Djibouti. Yet as they neared the port limits they were told that the request for entry had been denied. Following the refusal by the Port of Djibouti to grant port of refuge, the tow has continued in a north-easterly direction away from the high risk area, with the intention of seeking refuge at the port of Duqm, the shipowner and operator said in a joint statement on March 20. The 'Hercules' and 'True Confidence' were still on their way to Duqm in Oman, which has dry dock facilities that are used for salvage and repairs. Once there, the agency that provided the ship’s crew will locate the remains of the seafarers for repatriation to the Philippines. There has been no pollution from the 'True Confidence' either from the initial attack or the subsequent salvage and tow to date.

Survivors repatriated to Vietnam, body of Dang Duy Kien too

The body of Dang Duy Kien, one of the three sailors who were killed in the Houthi missile attack on the 'True Confidence' off the coast of Yemen on March 6, 2024, was brought back to Vietnam on March 24. There were 20 crew members on board at the time of the attack, consisting of 15 Filipinos, four Vietnamese, and one Indian. The strike also resulted in the deaths of two Filipinos. The three Vietnamese sailors who had survived the attack returned home on March 14. Since the incident occurred, the Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt has kept a close watch on the situation, directly communicated with and given encouragement to the sailors. It also dispatched consular personnel to Djibouti to visit and support the sailors, while coordinating with relevant authorities there and the parties concerned to complete procedures for the repatriation of the deceased’s remains. Report with photo: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/body-of-vietnamese-sailor-killed-in-red-sea-attack-repatriated-4726121.html

Hercules continues to tow bulk carrier towards Duqm despite obstacles

The salvage operation for the 'True Confedence', while being impeded by several challenges, was still ongoing as of March 21. One of the problems affecting the operation was the reliability of the tug. The vessel initially sent, on a daily charter basis (excluding Lloyd's open form or Lof), has broken down at the start of the week and had to be assisted itself. Furthermore, finding a salvage tug was proving complicated due to safety concerns among the operators, which has led owners and managers to call on the services of the 'Hercules' (IMO: 9558517), whose Swedish operator, based in the United Arab Emirates, is subject to American sanctions against Iran. After obtaining a waiver from the US Treasury, the 'Hercules' began towing the bulk carrier to the nearby port of Djibouti, where the ship's 17 survivors had already been dropped off shortly after the attack on March 6. But, citing security concerns, the Djiboutian authorities refused to grant the ship a port of refuge. This forced the tug to head in the opposite direction, towards Duqm in Oman. Due to the complex nature of the salvage and ongoing safety concerns, no ETA has been released. No pollution was reported during towing.