Rescuers pluck 4 survivors from the water after Houthi-struck ship sinks in Red Sea

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Jul 10, 2025 8:22 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Rescuers pulled 3 much unit members and a information defender live from the Red Sea connected Thursday, maritime information sources said, a time aft Houthi militants sank the Greek vessel Eternity C and said they were holding some of the unit inactive missing.

It was the 2nd Greek bulk bearer sunk this week by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia, shattering months of comparative calm disconnected Yemen's coast, the gateway to the Red Sea and a captious way for lipid and commodities to the world.

Many shipping companies person suspended voyages owed to the fearfulness of attack. The Houthis are believed to beryllium holding six of the Eternity C's complement of 22 unit and 3 guards, maritime information sources said.

"We stay profoundly acrophobic for the payment of the unit members successful the custody of the Houthis, arsenic good arsenic for those presently unaccounted for," Ellie Shafik, caput of quality with U.K.-based maritime hazard absorption institution Vanguard Tech, said. "Their information and swift merchandise indispensable beryllium a precedence for each involved."

Eternity C was archetypal deed connected Monday with oversea drones and rocket-propelled grenades fired from velocity boats. Four radical were believed to person been killed successful the attacks, maritime information sources say. If confirmed, the deaths would beryllium the archetypal fatalities successful the country since June 2024.

Following a 2nd onslaught connected Tuesday morning, the unit were forced to leap into the water. Rescuers person been searching for survivors since Wednesday morning. The vessel's operator, Cosmoship Management, has not responded to Reuters' requests for comment.

A full of 10 survivors from the Eternity C person been rescued truthful acold — 8 Filipino unit members, 1 Indian and 1 Greek information guard. The 4 radical rescued connected Thursday greeting had spent astir 48 hours successful the water.

"This fills america with much courageousness to proceed to hunt for those missing, arsenic the Greek vas relation requested, and shows that our hunt program was correct," said Nikos Georgopoulos, an authoritative astatine the Greece-based maritime hazard steadfast Diaplous.

Another 11 radical are inactive missing.

The United States' Mission successful Yemen has accused the Houthis of kidnapping unit members and has called for their immediate, unconditional release.

On Wednesday, the Houthis' subject spokesperson said successful a televised address that the Yemeni navy had "responded to rescue a fig of the ship's crew, supply them with aesculapian care, and transport them to a harmless location."

Fraught passage

The Eternity C sank connected Wednesday, days aft Houthis deed and sunk the Magic Seas, reviving a run launched successful November 2023 that has seen much than 100 ships attacked successful what the radical said was solidarity with the Palestinians successful the Gaza war.

Both of the vessels deed this week flew Liberian flags and were operated by Greek companies. All unit from the Magic Seas were rescued earlier it went down.

Some of their sister vessels successful the respective fleets had made calls to Israeli ports successful the past year, an investigation of shipping information showed.

The fig of regular sailings done the constrictive Bab al-Mandab strait, astatine the confederate extremity of the Red Sea and a gateway to the Gulf of Aden, was 32 vessels connected July 9 from 43 connected July 1, according to maritime information radical Lloyd's List Intelligence.

The concern has go truthful fraught that galore of the ships sailing connected Thursday broadcast nationalist messages referring to Chinese unit and absorption oregon equipped guards connected board, according to vessel tracking information connected the MarineTraffic platform. One vas broadcast a connection which said it had nary narration with Israel.