After a brief lull, the Houthis have resumed attacks on ships in the Red Sea, with fatalities reported for the first time in a year.
According to the EU’s maritime security force in the region, Aspides, four crew members aboard the cargo ship Eternity C—flying the Liberian flag and operated by a Greek company—were killed in Monday night’s attack. The last time deaths were reported in an attack on a ship in the Red Sea was in June 2024. Since the Houthis began their campaign in November 2023, a total of eight sailors have now been killed.
Houthi footage of sinking a cargo ship off the coast of Yemen
Eternity C had 22 crew members — 21 Filipinos and one Russian. At least two more were wounded, an Aspides source told Reuters. The ship was heading north toward the Suez Canal when it was assaulted by armed small boats and bomb-armed drones. Security personnel aboard returned fire. Maritime security sources told Reuters that the ship is currently drifting, listing to one side due to the damage it sustained.
Earlier in the evening, the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking another Liberian-flagged Greek-operated cargo vessel, Magic Seas. The ship was hit on Sunday approximately 100 km southwest of the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah, and the Houthis say it sank. The vessel's manager said the information about the sinking could not be verified.
All crew on the Magic Seas were rescued by a passing merchant vessel and arrived safely in Djibouti on Monday, Djibouti authorities said.
The Houthis released dramatic footage depicting the assault—featuring drones, missiles, RPGs and small arms. After the crew abandoned ship, armed terrorists boarded it, shouting “Allahu Akbar!” from the bridge, whose windows were mostly shattered. The video ends with what appears to be the ship sinking — though the operating company says there’s no independent verification.
In the video, Houthi fighters can be heard ordering the vessel to stop for a security inspection. One fighter, speaking English, instructs the captain:
“Stop the ship immediately! For the safety of your ship and your crew! Otherwise, you will be under our responsibility.”
Although the Houthis have not officially taken credit for the deadly Eternity C attack, they did claim to have destroyed the Magic Seas. Their spokesperson, Yahya Saree, stated Monday night that the attacks are part of actions against “Israeli entities in occupied Palestine,” aiming to prevent Israel-connected ships from operating in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea “until the attack on Gaza ceases and the siege is lifted.” In reality, the Magic Seas was carrying iron and fertilizer from China to Turkey and had no connection to Israel.
November will mark two years of near-continuous Houthi attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea, which they say are in response to Israeli actions in Gaza. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis launched more than 100 attacks on merchant ships using missiles and drones, sank three vessels, and killed eight sailors. These attacks caused a sharp drop in trade through the Red Sea, which handles about $1 trillion in goods annually.
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The recent attacks raise concerns worldwide that the campaign could intensify again after a roughly two‑month pause following a tacit agreement with the United States. In early May, U.S. President Donald Trump said that after weeks of U.S. military strikes targeting the Houthis, he decided to halt the operation because the Houthis “don’t want to fight.” Although they reportedly ceased attacks on American vessels only, they stopped offensive actions against all ships from mid-April. The renewed attacks now suggest a potential escalation.