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Aspides, the EU’s naval task force patrolling the Red Sea, said a total of 25 people were onboard the Liberian-flagged cargo ship named ‘Eternity C’
Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C sinking after it was attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea. (Image: ANSARULLAH MEDIA CENTRE/AFP)
Three Filipino crew and a Greek member of a cargo ship were killed, while 10 people were rescued after Houthis sank the vessel in the Red Sea in their second attack this week. Twelve people out of the 25 onboard, however, are missing, EU naval force said on Thursday.
The Eternity C ship’s onboard security team were plucked from the sea overnight, “bringing the total number of those rescued to 10″, the European Union’s Operation Aspides force posted on X.
On Wednesday (July 9), the Houthis said they had “rescued” an unspecified number of the Eternity C’s crew and taken them to a safe location. The US embassy for Yemen, however, accused the rebels of kidnapping the survivors.
A total of 25 people were onboard the Liberian-flagged Eternity C, as per Aspides, the EU’s naval task force patrolling the Red Sea.
The deadly attack was the second such assault on a commercial vessel in recent days, marking a serious escalation in a key waterway and threatening a May truce with the United States meant to safeguard freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The two consecutive incidents broke a months-long lull in Houthi ship attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which began after the start of the Gaza war.
The attacks, which the Houthis said are against Israel-linked shipping and in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, have forced many companies to avoid a route that normally carries about 12 percent of global trade.
The UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, expressed “grave concern” over the latest attacks that resulted in “civilian loss of life and casualties as well as the potential for environmental damage”.
While the Magic Seas crew was rescued by an Emirati ship, the attack on the Eternity C is the most deadly since three were killed in a missile attack on the True Confidence merchant vessel in March last year.
Before these two deadly attacks in the same week, the Houthis had paused their attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. The Iran-backed rebels have carried out more than 100 attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since the start of their campaign in November 2023, as per the Joint Maritime Information Centre, run by a Western naval coalition.
Here are the most significant attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea:
Eternity C: On July 7, a day after attacking the Magic Seas, the Houthis targeted another cargo ship, the Eternity C, for two consecutive days, sinking it and forcing the crew to abandon ship.
Magic Seas: On July 6, the Yemeni militia attacked and sank the Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged Magic Seas – their first such assault in 2025 after more than six months of interruption. All 22 crew members were rescued after they were forced to abandon ship. The rebels released a propaganda video showing masked, armed men storming the vessel and simultaneous explosions that sank the bulk carrier.
Sounion: In August 2024, the rebels struck the Greek-flagged Sounion oil tanker carrying more than a million barrels of oil off Hodeida, causing a fire and cutting engine power. The crew, 23 Filipinos and two Russians, were rescued the next day by a French frigate operating under the Aspides naval mission.
Tutor: In June 2024, the Houthis attacked the Tutor, a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned merchant ship, killing a Filipino sailor. The vessel, hit off Hodeida, suffered serious flooding and was abandoned before it eventually sank.
True Confidence: In March 2024, three crew were killed and four wounded when a Houthi missile struck the True Confidence merchant vessel, the first fatal attack of the rebels’ campaign. The Indian Navy rescued 21 of the crew aboard the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned ship, including 13 Filipinos, and took them to Djibouti.
Rubymar: In February 2024, the Rubymar, a cargo ship carrying 21,000 tonnes of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertiliser, was hit by a Houthi missile, causing serious damage and forcing the evacuation of its crew to Djibouti. Less than two weeks later, on March 2, the Belize-flagged, British-registered and Lebanese-operated vessel went down south of the Hanish Islands, a Yemeni archipelago, in the first known sinking from the attacks.
Galaxy Leader: The militia stormed and hijacked a vehicle-carrier, the Galaxy Leader, in November 2023, detaining its 25 international crew for more than a year. The Bahamas-flagged, British-owned Galaxy Leader is operated by a Japanese firm but has links to Israeli businessman Abraham “Rami” Ungar.
(With agency inputs)
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
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