Rescuers pulled six crew members alive from the Red Sea on Wednesday, while 15 were listed missing. Four of the 25 people aboard the Eternity C cargo ship were killed before the rest of the crew abandoned the vessel, which sank on Wednesday morning after being attacked on Monday and Tuesday, sources at security companies involved in the rescue operation said.
Moment missile slams into Eternity C
The six seafarers who were rescued had spent more than 24 hours in the water, they said.
The Houthis, for their part, claimed that their navy rescued several crew members from the ship, provided them with medical treatment and "transferred them to a safe location." However, the United States accused the Iran-aligned group of kidnapping the seafarers.
Rescue of crew from the Eternity C
(Video: Reuters)
The U.S. Embassy in Yemen condemned the Houthi attack on the ship: “After killing their shipmates, sinking their ship and hampering rescue efforts, the Houthi terrorists have kidnapped many surviving crew members of the Eternity C,” the embassy said in a statement on X. It called for their “immediate and unconditional safe release.”
The Houthis claimed responsibility for a similar attack on Sunday targeting another ship, the Magic Seas. All crew were rescued before it sank.
Both ships flew Liberian flags and were operated by Greek firms. Some of the sister vessels in each of their wider fleets had made calls to Israeli ports in the past year, shipping data analysis showed.
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Eternity C crew member awaits rescue after spending more than a day floating in the Red Sea
(Photo: Diaplous/Handout via Reuters)
The attacks mark a renewed escalation by the Iran-aligned Houthis, who had previously targeted more than 100 ships between November 2023 and December 2024 in what they called solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The campaign had subsided earlier this year under an unofficial ceasefire with the United States. These are the first fatalities reported in such attacks in a year.
According to the Houthis, the strike on the ship came after the vessel and its operating company resumed activity related to the Port of Eilat, in violation of their declared ban.
The Eternity C, sailing under the Liberian flag and operated by a Greek company, had 22 crew members on board—21 Filipinos and one Russian—as well as three armed guards, including one Indian and one Greek. A source from the EU's Aspides naval mission told Reuters that at least two others were injured in the attack, which occurred as the vessel was heading north toward the Suez Canal.
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Rescue of crew members from the cargo ship Eternity C
(Photo: Diaplous/Handout via Reuters)
Gunmen in small boats stormed the Eternity C after it was struck by explosive-laden drones, prompting return fire from onboard security guards. The incident marks the first reported fatalities in a Red Sea ship attack since June 2024. With this latest assault, the death toll from Houthi maritime attacks since November 2023 has risen to eight.
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Just hours earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking another Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated cargo ship, the Magic Seas. That vessel was struck Sunday about 100 kilometers southwest of Hodeidah, a port city under Houthi control, and, according to the group, it sank.
Houthi footage of sinking the cargo ship Magic Seas off the coast of Yemen
On Tuesday night, the Houthis released a propaganda video purporting to show the Magic Seas attack. The edited clip includes scenes of drones, missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire, culminating in a large explosion and the ship’s crew abandoning the vessel. Armed terrorists are then seen shouting “Allahu Akbar” from the shattered bridge, with the final frame showing the ship sinking.
This week’s attacks have reignited global concern over a possible full-scale resumption of the Houthis’ maritime assault campaign. The strikes follow a two-month pause that was widely linked to an informal ceasefire with the United States. President Donald Trump said in May that he had ordered a halt to U.S. airstrikes on Houthi targets after weeks of attacks, stating the Houthis “don’t want to fight.” Though they had only promised to stop targeting American vessels, attacks on all ships had ceased since mid-April—until now.