Two crew members of a Greek-managed vessel were wounded, and two went missing after a drone attack off the coast of Yemen on Monday. This incident occurred just hours after Iran-aligned Houthi militants claimed an attack on another bulk carrier in the Red Sea, stating that the ship had sunk.
The assault took place 50 nautical miles southwest of the port of Hodeidah, marking the second Houthi attack on merchant vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane since November 2024, as confirmed by an official from the European Union’s Operation Aspides, which is responsible for ensuring the security of Red Sea shipping.
The incident involved the Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C, which had 21 Filipino and one Russian crew member on board. The attack utilized sea drones and skiffs, as reported by the vessel’s manager, Cosmoship Management.
Two crew members sustained serious injuries, and two are reported missing. The ship’s bridge was damaged, and telecommunications were disrupted. As of later reports, the ship was adrift following an assault by sea drones and four speedboats, which launched at least four rocket-propelled grenades. The vessel had not requested any protection or escort from the naval forces.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. Earlier, the Houthis took responsibility for a Sunday attack on the Greek-operated MV Magic Seas, involving gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from eight skiffs, alongside missiles and four uncrewed surface vessels.
The 19 crew members of the MV Magic Seas abandoned ship due to water intake and were later rescued, arriving safely in Djibouti. The Houthis claimed to have sunk the vessel, but this could not be independently verified by Michael Bodouroglou, a representative of one of the ship’s commercial managers, Stem Shipping.
The crew had reported fires at the forepeak and flooding in the engine room and at least two holds, with no electricity on board. Aspides had issued a warning about the risk of an explosion in the vicinity of the MV Magic Seas.
Since the start of Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have been targeting Israel and vessels in the Red Sea in support of the Palestinians. Israel has responded with strikes on Houthi targets. The US-Houthi ceasefire deal in May did not apply to Israel, and these recent attacks signify an escalating threat to commercial vessels that have visited Israeli ports.
The Magic Seas was carrying cargo from China to Turkey, a journey considered low-risk as it was not linked to Israel. However, analysis revealed that the vessel’s other commercial manager, Allseas Marine, had made calls to Israeli ports in the past year. This history was identified as an extreme risk factor for the Magic Seas by Ellie Shafik, head of intelligence at Vanguard Tech, a UK-based maritime risk management company.
John Xylas, the chair of Intercargo, a dry bulk shipping association, commented that the crews of these attacked vessels are “innocent people simply doing their jobs to keep global trade moving. No one at sea should face such violence.”
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/08/red-sea-cargo-ships-yemen-houthi-attacks-bulk-carrier-sinking
