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GMA Network
3 days ago
- GMA Network
'I thought I was going to die': Pinoy sailor recounts Houthi attack in Red Sea
A view shows the sinking of what is said to be the Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier MV Magic Seas that was, according to Yemen's Houthis, attacked following an alleged exchange with the captain, off southwest Yemen, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 8, 2025. HOUTHI MEDIA CENTER/Handout via REUTERS Filipino seafarer Cocoy was off-duty and resting in his cabin when the captain's voice boomed over the intercom of the cargo ship: "We are under attack". The 38-year-old realized what sounded like a "knock" from inside the vessel was gunfire being exchanged by ship security and Houthi rebels swarming the ship in small boats. The July 6 assault on the Greek-owned Magic Seas broke a months-long lull in attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Red Sea shipping, which began after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Crew members scrambled to reach the "muster station" at the center of the ship, considered the safest place should a projectile strike the vessel. "There was panic, but we knew we had to move. It's like we were on autopilot," said Cocoy, who asked to be referred to by his nickname as he undergoes a debriefing. "(The crew) were in a daze, but they were all rushing to do their assigned jobs for our safety protocol... maybe I looked dazed too," he told AFP. "There were speedboats from the right, left and back of our ship," he said, relaying what the ship's security team had told him. "There was also a bigger boat with around 15 crew who were attempting to board our ship, but luckily, our armed guards were able to stop them." Of the 22 aboard the ship, 17 were Filipino . The group huddled inside the muster station for nearly five hours as the ship's three armed Sri Lankan security guards tried to stave off the attack. "I lost count of how many hits we took," he told AFP of Houthi projectiles. A Houthi spokesman would later claim that five ballistic and cruise missiles and three drones had been employed in the attack. One would breach the hull. "The flooding had started so we decided to abandon the ship," Cocoy said. "We deployed our lifeboat, all 22 of us, and left our main vessel." Filipino sailors make up as much as 30% of the world's commercial shipping force. The nearly $7 billion they sent home in 2023 accounted for about a fifth of remittances sent to the archipelago nation. While a seafarer for more than 15 years, it was Cocoy's first passage through the Red Sea, and what he called a case of "really bad timing". "During the gunfight, the faces of my wife and child flashed before my eyes. I kept thinking... will they survive without me?" he said. "I thought I was going to die." After abandoning ship, Cocoy and his shipmates spent three hours floating in the Red Sea before being picked up by a Panama-flagged container ship. "They were the longest hours of my life," he said. The Magic Seas was no longer within their sight as it sank beneath the waves. 'We were just lucky' A day after Cocoy's ordeal, another vessel crewed largely by Filipino sailors, the Eternity C, was attacked and sunk. Ten of those aboard were rescued. Another 15 are dead or missing. It was the deadliest such assault since three people were killed in a missile attack on another ship in March last year. On Wednesday night, eight Filipinos rescued from the Eternity C landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The Iran-backed Houthis said last week they had "rescued" an unspecified number of the Eternity C's crew and taken them to a safe location, prompting charges of kidnapping by the US government. Maritime news journal Lloyd's List reported six Filipino seafarers as "believed taken hostage". The Philippine government has so far offered no information about the possibility of either hostages or negotiations. "I feel terrified for the (missing) Eternity C crew," Cocoy told AFP. "We were just lucky, because all of us survived... I pray that many of their crew can still be located alive." Cocoy, who is plagued by nightmares of the attack, said he is unsure if he will return to the sea. "What happened to us was not normal," he said, urging shipowners to find routes that avoid the Red Sea. "It's something that no one should ever experience." —Agence France-Presse
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Straits Times
Russian crew member of ship sunk by Houthi militants undergoing treatment in Yemen
FILE PHOTO: A vessel said to be Greek-operated, Liberia-flagged Eternity C sinks in a footage released by Yemen's Houthis, in the Red Sea, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 9, 2025. HOUTHI MEDIA CENTER/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo A Russian crew member of a Greek cargo ship sunk by Houthi militants is undergoing treatment in Yemen, Russia's state RIA news agency said on Thursday, quoting a source. RIA identified the Russian mariner as Aleksei Galaktionov, one of several crew members picked up by the Yemeni navy after the ship was sunk. It quoted a highly placed source as saying the man, who had suffered wounds in the attack, was now in a markedly improved condition. Maritime security sources had earlier reported that 10 mariners -- eight crew members and two security guards - had been rescued and taken to Saudi Arabia. The sources said all the crew were Filipino, except for one Russian. The sources said the Iran-aligned Houthis had sunk the Liberia-flagged Eternity C, with 22 crew and three armed guards on board, after attacking the vessel with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades over two consecutive days. The remaining 15 people who were on board were considered missing and a privately run search to find them has been called off. The Houthis have attacked more than 100 ships since November 2023 in what they say is an act of solidarity with the Palestinians over the Gaza war. REUTERS
GMA Network
15-07-2025
- General
- GMA Network
8 Pinoy seafarers rescued from Houthi-hit ship in Red Sea now in Saudi Arabia
A vessel said to be Greek-operated, Liberia-flagged MV Eternity C sinks in a video footage released by Yemen's Houthis, in the Red Sea, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 9, 2025. The vessel had 21 Filipino crew members. HOUTHI MEDIA CENTER/Handout via REUTERS The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday said eight Filipino seafarers who were crew members of the M/V Eternity C which was hit by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea have safely arrived in Saudi Arabia. The seafarers disembarked at the port city of Jizan and were placed under the joint custody of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, the Migrant Workers' Office-Jeddah, and their shipping agency, the DFA said in a statement. The Pinoy seafarers will undergo medical checkup before their scheduled repatriation in the next few days. "The DFA wishes to express its deepest gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for extending visa considerations to the 8 Filseafarers on humanitarian grounds," the department said. The rescue of the eight Filipino crew members was announced by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Thursday. There were 21 Filipino crew members on board the M/V Eternity C when it was attacked by Houthi rebels. "The DFA will update the public on significant developments on the Filseafarers of M/V Eternity C," the department said. —KG, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
12-07-2025
- GMA Network
DMW confirming if 3 Pinoys killed in MV Eternity C attack
A vessel said to be Greek-operated, Liberia-flagged MV Eternity C sinks in a video footage released by Yemen's Houthis, in the Red Sea, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 9, 2025. The vessel had 21 Filipino crew members, more than half of whom remain unaccounted as of July 11, 2025. HOUTHI MEDIA CENTER/Handout via REUTERS The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is still verifying reports that three of the 21 Filipino crew members of MV Eternity C were killed in the attack by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. At a news forum in Quezon City, DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia on Saturday said search and rescue operations for the remaining 13 Filipino seafarers are ongoing, in cooperation with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Department of National Defense (DND). "Malakas ang ating paniniwala na sila ay buhay pa… (Our belief is strong that they are still alive)," Olalia said. "Mayroon tayong unconfirmed reports. Aalamin natin ito sa mga kababayan natin na na-rescue… sa oras na makausap natin sila. Tatlo ang sinasabi sa news na may kababayan tayong namatay sa MV Eternity C," he said. (We have unconfirmed reports. We will verify this with our countrymen who were rescued... once we get in touch with them. News reports have said some of our countrymen at the MV Eternity C have died.) The DFA said last Wednesday that two Filipino seafarers aboard MV Eternity C were "most likely" killed. Olalia reiterated that the other 13 Filipino sailors remain unaccounted. He said the DMW is still verifying reports that the unaccounted Filipino sailors are being held captive by the Houthis. Meanwhile, the eight rescued Filipino crew members are now in a "safe port" for their "eventual facilitated repatriation." The DMW has suspended the license of the principal and manning agency of the 21 Filipino seafarers aboard the ill-fated ship. Eternity C had 22 crew members on board, comprising of 21 Filipinos and one Russian. Reuters had reported that three guards were also on the vessel during the incident. It was attacked Monday with sea drones and skiffs 50 nautical miles southwest of the port of Hodeidah in Yemen. In an order issued in March 2024, the DMW mandated shipowners and manning agencies to report planned passages through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and ensure that Filipino crew are informed of the risks. Olalia reminded Filipino seafarers of their right to refuse to sail. The Philippines is one of the world's largest providers of shipping manpower. A bulk of Filipino seamen or more than 20% of the world's 1.2 million sailors man oil tankers, luxury liners, and passenger vessels worldwide, exposing them to attacks, piracy and ransom kidnappings. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
Straits Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
'All Crew Muslim': ships look to dodge Red Sea attacks with messages
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: A vessel said to be Greek-operated, Liberia-flagged Eternity C sinks in a footage released by Yemen's Houthis, in the Red Sea, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 9, 2025. HOUTHI MEDIA CENTER/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo LONDON - Commercial ships still sailing through the Red Sea are broadcasting messages about their nationality and even religion on their public tracking systems to avoid being targeted by Yemen's Houthis after deadly attacks this week by the militia. The Red Sea is a critical waterway for oil and commodities but traffic has dropped sharply since Houthi attacks off Yemen's coast began in November 2023 in what the Iran-aligned group said was in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war. The group sank two ships this week after months of calm and its leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi reiterated there would be no passage for any company transporting goods connected to Israel. In recent days more ships sailing through the southern Red Sea and the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait have added messages to their AIS public tracking profiles that can be seen when clicking on a vessel. Messages have included referring to an all-Chinese crew and management, and flagging the presence of armed guards on board. "All Crew Muslim," read one message, while others made clear the ships had no connection to Israel, according to MarineTraffic and LSEG ship-tracking AIS data. Maritime security sources said this was a sign of growing desperation to avoid attack by Houthi commandos or deadly drones - but they also thought it was unlikely to make any difference. Houthi intelligence preparation was "much deeper and forward-leaning", one source said. Vessels in the broader fleets of both ships attacked and sunk by the Houthis this week had made calls to Israeli ports in the past year, shipping analysis showed. Maritime security sources said even though shipping companies must step up due diligence on any tangential link to Israel before sailing through the Red Sea, the risk of attack was still high. In March 2024, the Houthis hit the Chinese-operated tanker Huang Pu with ballistic missiles despite previously saying they would not attack Chinese vessels, the U.S. Central Command said. The Houthis have also targeted vessels trading with Russia. "Despite declared ceasefires, areas such as the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait remain designated high-risk by underwriters," insurance broker Aon said in a report this week. "Ongoing monitoring and adaptive security measures are essential for ship operators." 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. The number of daily sailings through the strait, at the southern tip of the Red Sea and a gateway to the Gulf of Aden, was 35 vessels on July 10, 32 vessels on July 9, down from 43 on July 1, Lloyd's List Intelligence data showed. That compares with a daily average of 79 sailings in October 2023, before Houthi attacks began. "Seafarers are the backbone of global trade, keeping countries supplied with food, fuel and medicine. They should not have to risk their lives to do their job," the UK-based Seafarers' Charity said this week. REUTERS
