Following the attack by Houthi rebels on the 186-meter-long bulker “Eternity C“, the fate of the crew has largely been clarified.
Ten sailors were rescued and reached a Saudi port safely. Six other people with Philippine citizenship had previously been pulled out of the water by Houthi militias and taken to Yemen, according to the security company Vanguard Tech.
At least four crew members died as a result of the attack, and five others are believed to be missing and presumed dead. Seven Filipinos, a Russian sailor, and an Indian security guard are among the nine suspected fatalities. The owner has suspended the search for the missing persons, the Diaplous Group announced.
The British government has demanded the immediate release of the sailors held by the Houthis. London condemned the attack as an act of terrorism and emphasized that the crew had no connection to the Israeli-Palestinian war that motivated the Houthi attacks.
On July 7, the “Eternity C” was attacked by several small boats around 50 nautical miles southwest of the port city of Hodeidah and was fired upon with rockets. The ship was badly damaged and sank. It is already the fourth ship that the Houthi militias have sunk in the Red Sea.
Satellite images now show oil slicks at the wreck sites of the “Eternity C” and the “Magic Seas”, which was also attacked and sunk the previous week.
