Houthis capture and sink cargo ship in Hollywood-style video

Telegraph

09-07-2025

Houthi terrorists have released a Hollywood-style video showing them capturing and then sinking a large cargo ship in the Red Sea.
The high-quality drone footage shows the 200-metre vessel being hit by a large explosion, as well as uniformed gunmen running towards the bridge in the style of a commando raid.
Magic Seas, a Liberian-flagged and Greek-operated vessel, was attacked in two waves on July 6 and 7, with no intervention from foreign navies. It is thought the Yemen-based terror group initially attacked using a swarm of boats, small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. They then used kamikaze drones.
Having seized control of the bulk carrier, the gunmen simultaneously detonated multiple charges around the ship's hull, causing it to sink.
The crew is thought to have abandoned the ship before the gunmen boarded.
The Houthis also attacked Eternity C, another Liberian-owned, Greek-operated vessel, on June 7, killing four of the crew and wounding two.
The attacks, which demonstrate advanced planning, mark significant escalation of terror action against commercial ships in the Red Sea, following a lull since December last year.
The video of the raid on Magic Seas is similar in style to the Houthis hijacking of the British-owned Galaxy Leader in November 2023, which focused the West's attention on the threat and, ultimately, led to US and British air strikes.
The footage includes audio of a voice announcing himself as Yemeni Naval Forces ordered the vessel to stop. The captain can be heard refusing, saying he was engaged in 'lawful passage'.
Later, he can be heard calling 'mayday mayday mayday', on the radio, demanding 'immediate assistance'.
The Houthis are filmed at close quarters moving in a tactical formation across the ship and entering its bridge, several of whose windows have been smashed.
Three then stand on the roof with their Kalashnikov rifles chanting 'Allahu Akbar', God is the greatest, followed by, in Arabic: 'Death to America, Death To Israel, Curse be upon the Jews, Victory to Islam.'
Approximately seven explosive charges detonate at the same time around the hull, followed by frothing seas as air escapes from breaches to the structure. Further drone footage shows the ship steadily sinking in a level position, before tipping forward and disappearing rapidly beneath the surface.
The attack took place 51 nautical miles south-west of the Yemini port of Hodeidah, which is controlled by the Houthis.
A caption preceding the video said Magic Seas belonged to a company whose ships visited ports in 'occupied Palestine', meaning Israel.
The Houthis have threatened to attack any ships belonging to companies whose vessels visit the Jewish state.
Ami Daniel, a maritime expert, said this potentially threatened one-sixth of global shipping – around 15,000 vessels.
In May, Donald Trump announced a ceasefire deal between the US and the Houthis. He said the US would stop air strikes on the terror group in return for a guarantee that the Houthis would not attack US shipping.
Relatively little US shipping is threatened by the terror group, and the deal did not place any restrictions on attacking other vessels, or on continuing to attack Israel with ballistic missiles.
However, the US State Department condemned the 'unprovoked Houthi terror attack on the civilian cargo vessels MV Magic Seas and MV Eternity C' as demonstrating the threats the Houthis posed to freedom of navigation and regional security.
Washington 'will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping,' it added in a statement.
Arsenio Dominguez, secretary general of the International Maritime Organisation, said: 'After several months of calm, the resumption of deplorable attacks in the Red Sea constitutes a renewed violation of international law and freedom of navigation. Innocent seafarers and local populations are the main victims of these attacks and the pollution they cause.'
A US-led multinational military operation codenamed Prosperity Guardian was launched in December 2023, involving 20 countries.
Israel has launched recent airstrikes on multiple Houthis targets, including a Sunday night attack Galaxy Leader, which the group is now using as a mobile radar platform.
According to marine tracking websites, Magic Seas set off from Zhuhai in China and was heading for the Suez Canal. It was reported that the 22-man crew was rescued from their lifeboat by a vessel operated by the United Arab Emirates.
Pictures on social media showed them clambering up the site of the Safeen Prism container ship.