A still from a video released by the Houthis of the Greek-operated Eternity C going down stern-first in the Red Sea on Wednesday after being attacked by the Iran-backed group. A life raft can be seen at far left, but at least three crew members were confirmed to have died, and another 12 are missing. Photo courtesy Houthi Military Media Center/EPA
At least three crew members were killed and an unknown number of mostly Filipino seamen were missing at sea or being held hostage Thursday after Houthi rebels attacked and sank a Greek bulk carrier ship in the Red Sea off the Yemeni port city of Al Hudaydah.
Operation Aspides, the European Union freedom of navigation naval mission in the Red Sea, said that it had pulled four more men from the sea overnight.
“During the night, three additional crew members from the MV Eternity C — Filipino nationality — and one from the Maritime Security Team of Greek nationality have been recovered from the sea, bringing the total number of those rescued to 10,” EUNavforAspides said in a post on X.
The British Royal Navy’s Maritime Trade Operations center said that a search and rescue operation for others was ongoing after Eternity C went down at around 7 p.m. local time Wednesday after coming under sustained attack from multiple small craft firing rocket-propelled grenades.
In an alert issued prior to the sinking, the Dubai-based agency said at least five RPGs had been fired at the 23,000-ton vessel, which had a crew of 25, and that it had sustained significant damage, had lost all propulsion and was under “continuous attack” from small craft surrounding it.
The Iran-backed Houthis said they had taken a number of the crew to a “safe location” and that they had targeted the Liberian-flagged ship because it was bound for Israel.
Philippine authorities confirmed 21 of the crew were Filipino nationals. The BBC reported that another crew member, a Russian national, was badly injured in the attack, losing a leg.
The U.S. Embassy in Yemen demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the seamen being held by the Houthis.
“After killing their shipmates, sinking their ship, and hampering rescue efforts, the Houthi terrorists have kidnapped many of the surviving crew members of the Eternity C. We call for their immediate and unconditional safe release,” the mission said in a post on X.
“The Houthis continue to show the world why the United States was right to label them a terrorist organization.”
The Eternity was the second vessel to be sunk by the Houthis this week.
The Magic Seas, another Greek-operated, Liberian-flagged vessel, was scuttled by Houthi fighters on Tuesday, two days after being attacked with missiles and drones.
The Houthis, who claim commercial shipping serving Israel is a legitimate target in line with their policy of acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the conflict in Gaza, said the Magic Seas’ owners had breached its “ban on entry to the ports of occupied Palestine.”
Footage circulating online appeared to show the Magic Seas going down bow-first after a series of charges planted by hooded, armed men aboard the 36,000-ton vessel were detonated.
The attacks, the first since U.S. President Trump returned to office in January, came two months after he announced he had reached an informal cease-fire deal with the Houthis under which the group agreed to halt attacks on commercial and military shipping transiting the Red Sea in return for the United States ceasing airstrikes.
Trump said the deal was at the Houthis’ request after representatives approached his administration seeking a halt to almost two months of continuous airstrikes on military targets in areas of Yemen under their control.
However, it was unclear whether the Houthis agreed to stop attacking all shipping, or only U.S.-flagged vessels — but crucially, they did make it clear the deal excluded Israel.
