At least two crew members were killed in the attack, a Liberian U.N. delegation said on Tuesday. Another six were rescued after the crew abandoned ship, according to Operation Aspides, the European Union military operation to defend maritime security in the Red Sea. (AP)
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the first deadly Red Sea attack in over a year, and said they are holding members of the crew after at least 15 crew members were reported missing.
At least two crew members were killed in the attack, a Liberian U.N. delegation said on Tuesday. Another six were rescued after the crew abandoned ship, according to Operation Aspides, the European Union military operation to defend maritime security in the Red Sea.
An E.U.-coordinated search-and-rescue operation was still ongoing by late Wednesday, two days after the boat was first hit west of Yemen’s port of Hodeidah.
The U.S. Embassy in Yemen said Wednesday that “Houthi terrorists have kidnapped many surviving crew members” of the Eternity C, the Liberian-flagged cargo ship targeted by the rebel group. The embassy called for the crew members’ “immediate and unconditional safe release.” It was not immediately clear if the seafarers were being detained by the militant group or if they would be released, or how many of the missing were being held.
The Houthis said its militants “responded to rescue a number of the ship’s crew, provide them with medical care, and transport them to a safe location.” A Houthi official did not respond to a request for comment.
The attack on the Eternity C happened hours after the Houthi rebels claimed a different attack on a different Liberian-flagged ship, the Magic Seas. The 19-member crew evacuated the ship and there were no reported casualties.
Attacks on the two ships this week were the first Houthi attacks in the Red Sea since mid-April. The deaths were the first since June 2024, and brought the total number of fatalities in the Red Sea for global shipping to at least six.
Over more than a year, Houthi rebels have fired at naval and merchant ships traversing the vital waterway, as part of a push to pressure Israel over the war in Gaza, following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The group stopped strikes against ships in mid-April before resuming them this week.
In November 2023, the Houthis hijacked a commercial ship, the Galaxy Leader, in November 2023, holding its crew members captive for more than a year. The Houthis released them in late January.
Houthis first hit the Eternity C on Monday evening, attacking it with four speedboats carrying armed personnel who launched four rocket-propelled grenades and two drones, according to Operation Aspides.
The next day, two uncrewed surface vessels attacked the ship again, forcing the crew members to abandon ship.
The Houthis posted apparent video of the ship under attack, showing explosions on the boat and an aerial shot of a crater. It also included videos of rockets launching and the boat slowly sinking into the water until it is fully submerged.
The militant group also posted audio of a purported radio call to the ship, in which an Houthi member said in English “The boat came to help you and rescue ... There is not any danger against you at all.”
The ship sank Wednesday morning. A search-and-rescue operation was launched that day. The E.U. military operation said it is leading the coordination of the international response, “since no local [Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre] has taken the lead.”
Six crew members were recovered, including five Filipino nationals and one Indian national, the E.U mission said.
By Wednesday, 19 were still reported missing. The full crew included 21 Filipino seafarers, one Russian seafarer, and a three-member security team, it said.
According to the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, the Eternity C was heading to the Israeli port of Umm al-Rashrash, which it called a “clear violation of the ban on operations with the aforementioned port.” Saree reiterated his warning that all companies “dealing” with Israeli ports will be targeted by the Houthis, regardless of their destination.
United Nations special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that “freedom of navigation in the Red Sea must be safeguarded” and “Yemen must not be drawn deeper into regional crises.”
