LONDON – Liberia, in a strongly worded statement at the 132nd session of the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) currently held at the Headquarters of the IMO in London, condemns in the highest terms the unwarranted and brutal attacks on vessels transiting the RED Sea by the Houthis Rebels of Yemen.
The Commissioner and CEO of the Liberia Maritime Authority, Cllr Neto Zarzar Lighe, Sr. specifically drew the attention of the Council to the vicious attack on the Liberian Flag Vessel MV TUTOR on June 12, 2024. He informed the Council of the cowardly and callous attack by the Houthis Rebels using an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) that struck the port side of the vessel’s engine room. This was again followed by another attack using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that hit the vessel’s starboard side. The strike resulted in the engine room flooding and the vessel eventually losing power to sail further. The crew lost command of the vessel which started to drift away. Sadly, the ship sank and one crew member remains missing. Liberia extends its prayers and sympathies to the family and loved ones of the missing crew member.
Commissioner Lighe also used the occasion to thank the Navies of France and the United States that came to the rescue of the crew of MV TUTOR during the attack. He stressed how grateful Liberia was for the assistance they graciously rendered.
The Commissioner reiterated Liberia’s call for an immediate end to these horrific and senseless attacks on harmless vessels that are only facilitating the ease of international trade and commerce. He expressed profound disgust over the continuous threats the Houthis Rebels potentially pose to international shipping, seafarers and the marine environment. He stressed that ships in innocent transit and Seafarers that pose no threat but are, instead working hard to ensure that essential goods reach nations across the world, should not become targets or victims of attacks for whatever reason. He concluded by reiterating Liberia’s call on all well-meaning nations to condemn these unwarranted attacks and to firmly work together in ensuring the safety and security of all Ships and Seafarers who are sacrificing daily to sustain maritime trade, which is essentially the lifeline of nations and populations across worldwide, a dispatch issued by the Liberia Permanent Mission in London indicated.
