Explosive device likely damaged Greek tanker off Libya last week, operator says
The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left the Libyan port of Zuetina on June 27 to head to Gibraltar with some 1 million barrels of oil when there was an explosion in the engine room.
"Preliminary investigation findings clearly indicate that the explosion, the resulting fracture of the side shell plating, and the flooding of the engine room were caused by an external source —an unidentified explosive device," TMS Tankers said.
Maritime security sources told Reuters last week that a limpet mine may have caused the blast on Vilamoura, the fifth such incident to hit commercial shipping in the region in recent months.
Following the explosion and the flooding of its engine room the vessel lost manoeuvrability, although it was able to be towed towards Greece.
The vessel has now arrived safely at Laconikos Bay in Greece and its crew are in good health, the operator added in a statement. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou Editing by Gareth Jones)
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Zawya
4 days ago
- Zawya
Rescuers save four more survivors from Houthi-struck ship in Red Sea, 10 still missing, operator says
ATHENS/LONDON: Rescuers pulled three more crew members and a security guard alive from the Red Sea on Thursday, maritime security sources said, a day after Houthi militants sank the Greek ship Eternity C and said they were holding some of the crew still missing. It was the second Greek bulk carrier sunk this week by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia, shattering months of relative calm off Yemen's coast, the gateway to the Red Sea and a critical route for oil and commodities to the world. Many shipping companies have suspended voyages due to the fear of attack. The Houthis are believed to be holding six of the Eternity C's complement of 22 crew and three guards, maritime security sources said. Eternity C was first hit on Monday with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades fired from speed boats. On Thursday, the Greek operator of the vessel, Cosmoship Management, confirmed that so far ten people have been rescued - eight Filipino crew members, one Indian and one Greek security guard. Ten remain unaccounted for, including one guard, it said. One person is believed dead and another four have not been seen since the attack on the ship, the company added. If confirmed, the casualties would be the first fatalities in the area since June 2024. The crew were forced to jump into the water, following a second attack on the vessel on Tuesday morning. Rescuers have been searching for survivors since Wednesday morning. The four people rescued on Thursday morning had spent nearly 48 hours in the water. On Wednesday, the Houthis' military spokesperson said in a televised address that the Yemeni navy had "responded to rescue a number of the ship's crew, provide them with medical care, and transport them to a safe location". The United States Mission to Yemen has accused the Houthis of kidnapping crew members and has called for their immediate, unconditional safe release. "We understand that the Houthis have picked up some people and we are working through multiple channels as a matter of priority to verify this information," Cosmoship Management said. Rescuers are continuing their search, said Cosmoship, which has asked vessels passing in the area to assist in that effort. FRAUGHT PASSAGE Eternity C had delivered a cargo for the UN World Food Program to Berbera, Somalia, and was sailing in ballast condition to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for fuel at the time of the first attack on Monday, the operator said. The vessel went down on Wednesday, days after Houthis hit and sank the Magic Seas, reviving a campaign launched in November 2023 that has seen more than 100 ships attacked in what the group said was solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza war. Both of the vessels hit this week flew Liberian flags and were operated by Greek companies. All crew from the Magic Seas were rescued before it sank. Some of their sister vessels in the respective fleets had made calls to Israeli ports in the past year, an analysis of shipping data showed. "These are blameless victims who were simply doing their job," the UK-based Seafarers' Charity association said. "Seafarers should be able to work safely at sea. Instead, they are being unfairly forced into the firing line." Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of Yemen's Houthi fighters, reiterated in a televised address on Thursday the group's ban on companies transporting goods related to Israel through the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. He said this week's attacks were part of that ban, which has been in place since 2023. "It was never stopped or cancelled, and it is a valid decision," he said. "What was discovered (this week) was the violation by some companies of the decision." The insurance cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea has more than doubled since this week's attacks, with some underwriters pausing cover for some voyages, industry sources said on Thursday. The number of daily sailings through the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait, at the southern tip of the Red Sea and a gateway to the Gulf of Aden, was 32 vessels on July 9, down from 43 on July 1, Lloyd's List Intelligence data showed. Several ships on Thursday broadcast messages referring to Chinese crew and management or armed guards on board, according to MarineTraffic data. One vessel broadcast that it had no relation with Israel. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Yannis Souliotis in Athens, Jonathan Saul in London, Jana Choukeir in Dubai; Writing by Renee Maltezou, Jonathan Saul, Andrew Mills and Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Gareth Jones, Alex Richardson and Diane Craft)
Khaleej Times
6 days ago
- Khaleej Times
Greek ship attacked in Red Sea sinks: 4 dead, 7 rescued, 14 missing
Rescuers pulled seven crew members alive from the Red Sea on Wednesday and were searching for 14 still missing from the second of two freighters sunk within two days by suspected Houthi attackers. Four of the 25 people aboard the Eternity C cargo ship were killed before the rest of the crew abandoned the vessel, which sank on Wednesday morning after being attacked on Monday and Tuesday, sources at security companies mounting the rescue said. The seven seafarers who were rescued had spent more than 24 hours in the water, they said. There was no comment from the Houthis on the fate of the Eternity C, but the group claimed responsibility for a similar attack on Sunday targeting another ship, the Magic Seas. All crew from the Magic Seas were rescued before it sank. The attacks on the two ships renew a campaign by the Iran-aligned fighters, who had attacked more than 100 ships from November 2023-December 2024 in what they said was solidarity with the Palestinians, but had halted their campaign this year. "We will continue to search for the remaining crew until the last light," said an official at Greece-based maritime risk management firm Diaplous. "We aim at a peaceful operation," the official said earlier. Both of the ships that were attacked flew Liberia flags and were operated by Greek firms. Eternity C was first attacked on Monday afternoon with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades fired from speed boats by suspected Yemen-based Houthi militants, maritime security sources said. Lifeboats were destroyed during the raid. By Tuesday morning the vessel was adrift and listing. Two security sources told Reuters on Wednesday that the vessel was hit again with sea drones on Tuesday, forcing the crew and armed guards to abandon it for the sea. The Houthis stayed with the vessel until the early hours of Wednesday, one of the sources said. There were fears that some of the crew who jumped into the water may have been kidnapped by Houthis, the source added. Skiffs were in the area as the rescue efforts were under way. The crew comprised 21 Filipinos and one Russian. Three armed guards were also on board, including one Greek and one Indian, who was one of those rescued. The vessel's operator, Cosmoship Management, has not responded to requests for confirmation of casualties or injuries. But if confirmed, the four reported deaths would be the first fatalities involving attacks on shipping in the Red Sea since June 2024. Greece has been in talks with Saudi Arabia, a key player in the region, over the latest incident, according to sources. The Red Sea, which passes Yemen's coast, has long been a critical waterway for the world's oil and commodities. Traffic has dropped since the Iran-aligned Houthi militia began targeting ships in November 2023 in what the group said was solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war.
Zawya
07-07-2025
- Zawya
Crew rescued in Red Sea after attack on ship near Yemen, UK maritime agency says
CAIRO: The crew of a ship set on fire in an attack in the Red Sea on Sunday abandoned the vessel and were rescued as it took on water, a British maritime agency said, in an assault that private security firm Ambrey said resembles that of the Houthi militant group. The attack, off the southwest coast of Yemen, was the first such incident reported in the vital shipping corridor since mid-April. Maritime security sources said the vessel, which they identified as the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas, had taken on water after being hit by sea drones. All crew were safe after being rescued by a passing merchant vessel, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. It was first targeted by gunfire and self-propelled grenades launched from eight small boats, with armed security on the ship returning fire, the UKMTO and Ambrey said in advisories. Ambrey said in a separate advisory that the ship was later attacked by four Unmanned Surface Vehicles. "Two of the USVs impacted the port side of the vessel, damaging the vessel's cargo," Ambrey added. UKMTO said the attack resulted in a fire onboard. The vessel's operator was not immediately available for comment. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Ambrey assessed the vessel as meeting "the established Houthi target profile". Sunday's attack occurred 51 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, the UKMTO and Ambrey said. Tensions in the Middle East remain high over the war in Gaza and after the 12-day Israel-Iran war and airstrikes by the United States on Iranian nuclear sites in June. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched more than 100 attacks targeting shipping from November 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel's war with Hamas. During that period, the group sank two ships, seized another and killed at least four seafarers in an offensive that disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to reroute, prompting the U.S. to intensify attacks on the group this year. In May, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen, saying that the group had agreed to stop interrupting important 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. Later in June, Yemen's Houthis threatened to target U.S. ships in the Red Sea if Washington became involved in Israeli attacks on Iran. They have not specified whether they will follow through on their threat after the U.S. attacked Iranian nuclear facilities last month. (Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly, Jaidaa Taha, Hatem Maher and Yannis Souliotis; Editing by Alison Williams, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Alex Richardson and Diane Craft)
