At least three crew members aboard the Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C were killed, and two others sustained injuries in a Houthi attack off the coast of Yemen, the European Union’s naval mission Aspides confirmed on Tuesday.
The attack involving sea drones and manned speedboats armed with rocket-propelled grenades marks a deadly escalation following a months-long pause in maritime attacks in the Red Sea.
The vessel, carrying 22 crew members (21 Filipinos and one Russian), was struck late Monday, nearly 50 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah. The ship is now reportedly adrift and listing, news agency Reuters reported citing maritime security sources.
This incident is the second reported attack on merchant vessels in the region in two days and brings the total number of seafarers killed in Red Sea assaults to seven since the Houthi campaign began in November 2023. The group claims to be targeting ships linked to Israel in retaliation for its military operations in Gaza.
Earlier on Sunday, the Houthis said they struck another Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated vessel, the Magic Seas, alleging it had sunk. The vessel’s manager could not confirm the sinking, but all crew members were safely rescued and brought to Djibouti, according to local authorities.
The Eternity C incident has not yet been claimed by the Houthis, though both the EU naval mission and the US Embassy in Yemen have blamed the group.
“The Houthis are once again showing blatant disregard for human life,” the embassy said, calling the killings “intentional murder of innocent mariners.”
Liberia’s delegation to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) expressed shock at the rapid succession of attacks, noting the tragedy unfolded just as the country was grappling with the Magic Seas incident.
Filipino authorities have responded by urging their seafarers, who comprise a significant portion of the global maritime workforce, to exercise their right to refuse deployment to “high-risk, war-like” zones, including the Red Sea.
According to Ellie Shafik, head of intelligence at UK-based Vanguard Tech, the recent surge in violence underscores that the prior pause in Houthi attacks was not a sign of de-escalation.
“As long as the conflict in Gaza continues, ships with actual or perceived ties to Israel will remain at elevated risk,” she warned.
Shipping traffic through the Red Sea, a vital route for global oil and commodities, has dropped by about 50 per cent since the Houthi campaign began, a decline that persists amid ongoing security uncertainty.
“The recent attacks are unlikely to shift current routing patterns,” said Jakob Larsen of shipping association BIMCO.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez condemned the renewed violence, calling it a “violation of international law and freedom of navigation.” He emphasized that “innocent seafarers and local communities are the main victims of these attacks and the environmental risks they pose.”
The Houthis, aligned with Iran and controlling much of northern Yemen, have vowed to continue targeting vessels with links to Israel and to disrupt maritime traffic in both the Red and Arabian Seas until what they call Israeli “aggression” in Gaza ceases.
The back-to-back attacks on Magic Seas and Eternity C appear to signal a renewed and potentially intensified campaign against commercial shipping in the region.
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