Houthis take ‘several’ of sunk bulker’s crew
- Eternity C sunk after 16-hour battle with Houthi rebels
- More than 20 of its crew were forced into the water after abandoning the bulker
- A Houthi statement claims it has ‘rescued’ several members of the vessel’s crew
- Industry bodies call for ‘robust suport’ for shipping
UPDATED: A number of the crew from Eternity C who abandoned ship have been picked up by Houthi forces. The vessel was targeted because ships with the same owner continue to call at Israeli ports, the Houthis said in a statement
SEVERAL members of a bulk carrier sunk in the Red Sea earlier today are now in the hands of the Houthis, after a statement from the group said it had “rescued” individuals from the water.
The Liberia-flagged, 2012-built, 36,380 dwt Eternity C (IMO: 9588249) was first attacked by drones at around 2130 hrs on July 7, according to a Lloyd’s List Intelligence casualty report.
What followed was a 16-hour battle between the bulker’s private security team and Houthi militants, involving a drone boat as well as winged and ballistic missiles.
Security sources in the area have told Lloyd’s List this morning that four seafarers were killed in the attack, and that Eternity C has now sunk.
Six were pulled from the water, five by Djibouti-flagged regional response vessel Al Bahia, with another rescued afterwards, leaving 15 unaccounted for.
But a statement from the Yemeni Armed Forces, a moniker used by the Houthis, said “a group of special forces from the Naval Forces moved to rescue several members of the ship’s crew, provide them with medical care, and transport them to a safe location”.
Just 24 hours before Eternity C was first attacked, Houthi rebels targeted another Liberia-flagged bulker: the 2015-built, 63,027 dwt Magic Seas (IMO: 9736169).
مشاهد استهداف وإغراق سفينة(MAGIC SEAS) التابعة لشركةٍ انتهكت قرار حظر القوات المسلحة اليمنية وذلك بإدخال سفن تابعة لها إلى موانئ فلسطين المحتلة.
— أمين حيان Ameen Hayyan (@AminHian) July 8, 2025
pic.twitter.com/jgHFlOANPv
A video released by the group shows militants boarding the bulker and detonating explosives. Before that, a voice claiming to represent the “Yemini Armed Forces” ordered the vessel’s master to “decrease the speed of the ship and stop the vessel” to protect the safety of the vessel and its crew. The master appears to have ignored those demands.
Magic Seas was abandoned by its crew, all of which have been accounted for after being picked up by a passing merchant vessel, UKMTO confirmed.
Both Eternity C and Magic Seas were part of commercial fleets that have made regular calls to Israeli ports over the past year.
The Houthis said Eternity C was targeted because its owner had “continued operations with the port of Umm al-Rashrash”, now known as Eilat on Israel’s southeastern coast.
Eternity C’s Athens-based operator, Cosmoship Management, had at least one ship, the 2,556 teu containership HSL Nike (IMO: 9301457) on its way to the Israeli port of Haifa at the same time that Eternity C was heading into a high-risk area.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm their continued efforts to prevent Israeli maritime movement in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, and they renew their warning to all companies dealing with the ports of occupied Palestine that their ships and crews will be subject to targeting in any area within the reach of the Armed Forces, regardless of the destination of those ships,” the Houthi statement read.
“Out of concern for the safety of the ships and their crews, we reiterate our warning to companies and countries against the consequences of dealing with the Zionist entity and sending their ships to the ports of occupied Palestine.”
A joint statement by BIMCO, International Chamber of Shipping, Intercargo, Intertanko and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations said the vessels were attacked “with callous disregard for the lives of innocent civilian seafarers and as an inevitable but terrible consequence, seafarers have been killed”.
“We join with the IMO Secretary General in his denunciation of the attacks and we call on all stakeholders to uphold the safety and security of innocent civilian seafarers as they pass through this vital waterway, carrying the food, goods and energy the world’s economy relies upon.
“This tragedy illuminates the need for nations to maintain robust support in protecting shipping and vital sea lanes. We urge that the international standards of freedom of navigation and the sanctity of human life are recognised, upheld and defended.”
There were 30 transits of cargo-carrying vessels above 10,000 dwt through the Red Sea on July 7, and 34 on July 8, close to the June average of 31.5.
