Illustrative image.
Two sailors of the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier ship Eternity C were killed late on July 7 when the vessel came under attack in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, Liberia’s delegation told a meeting of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization the following day.
The Eternity C remains “surrounded by small craft and is under continuous attack,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center warned in an advisory notice.
Earlier, at least two people on board the ship were reported to be wounded, and two others were reported missing. All but one of the 22 crew stranded aboard the Eternity C are from the Philippines, officials from the country said.
The ship was heading north toward the Suez Canal when it came under fire by men in small boats who deployed bomb-carrying drones, the European Union anti-piracy force known as Operation Atalanta and the private security firm Ambrey both said, adding that security guards on board returned fire.
While the Iran-backed Houthis haven’t claimed the attack, Yemen’s exiled government and the EU force held the group responsible.
Just a day earlier, the Houthis attacked the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas with drones, missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and small arms fire, forcing its crew of 22 to abandon the vessel. The rebels later said the ship sank in the Red Sea.
“By the grace and power of God, the ship Magic Seas completely sank in the depths of the sea after our armed forces targeted it in response to the owning company’s repeated violations of the ban on entry into occupied Palestinian ports,” Houthi spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.
“The latest of these violations was the entry of three of its ships into occupied Palestinian ports last week, despite warnings and appeals from our naval forces,” he added.
The Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks targeting shipping from November 2023. According to the group, the campaign is a response to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
The attacks sank three ships, killing at least six sailors, including the last two casualties. Another ship was seized by the group.
All in all, the campaign disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to reroute. The United States responded by forming a coalition to guard shipping in the Red Sea and launched strikes against Yemen. However, President Donald Trump announced in May that the U.S. would stop bombing the Houthi, saying that the group had agreed to stop attacks on shipping lanes in the Middle East.
Under the agreement, neither the U.S. nor the Houthis would target the other, including U.S. ships in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, Oman said in a statement at the time.
In parallel with their campaign against shipping, the Houthis have been launching missile and drone attacks at Israel on a regular basis.
Following the attack on Magic Seas which coincided with a Houthi missile strike on Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force attacked multiple Houthi targets in Yemen, including the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif, and the Ras Khatib power station. A similar attack is expected now.
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under the sea. under the sea! guns they have plenty, eu’s not helping. under the sea!
yemen sand-apes are nothing but a minor annoyance…heheheh
says who? huh?? santa?