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Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Houthis terrorize sailors with fresh attacks on ships in Red Sea
Yemen's Houthi militants sank two commercial ships and killed sailors during three days of attacks in the Red Sea this week — a stark reminder to vessel owners and crews of the risks of traversing the maritime chokepoint. The Eternity C, a commodity carrier, sank Wednesday morning, two days after it came under attack, the European Union's naval force in the area said in a statement. Six crew were rescued while 19 remain 'missing,' it said. Of the 19, there are at least three fatalities, a person with knowledge of the incident said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Another, larger bulk tanker, the Magic Seas, also came under fire and sank. In both cases, the assailants employed rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. A log of distress calls from the Eternity C — described by a naval liaison to merchant shipping — showed the attack persisted for two days, while the assault on the Magic Seas lasted hours. Both had armed guards on board. 'It was extensive and with complete disregard for human life,' said Michael Bodouroglou, chief executive officer of Stem Shipping, owner of the Magic Seas. 'The crew was taking fire indiscriminately. There were rockets that were fired in the accommodation, bullets in the accommodation and the bridge.' Live Events The Houthis started targeting vessels in the Red Sea in late 2023 in protest at the war in Gaza, saying they would fire on ships that had ties to Israel. Before then, more than $2 trillion of global seaborne trade passed by the coast of Yemen every year, most of it en route to and from the Suez Canal on journeys between Europe and Asia. Traffic plunged by about 70% after the militants began their campaign, and has remained low despite a lull in attacks this year. While unnerving for any crews, it's not immediately clear the extent to which the latest attacks will deter other ships from the area. Avoiding the Red Sea route forces vessels to divert around Africa, adding thousands of miles to journeys and driving up freight costs. The Joint Maritime Information Center, which comes under the Combined Maritime Forces in Bahrain, said the owners of the Eternity C and the Magic Seas had other ships that called at Israel, at least one of which was there in early June. While the Houthis have said they're targeting vessels with a link to that country, the parameters of that threat aren't clear. The shipowners did not immediately respond to requests for comment on JMIC's research on their fleets' prior port calls. Ruthless Assault The crew of the Magic Seas was rescued by a passing ship before the Houthis blew up the vessel and sank it. The account from Stem Shipping's Bodouroglou — relayed to him by the crew — and details from JMIC paint a picture of what appears to be an increasingly ruthless Houthi approach. 'These guys are scared to death,' said Corey Ranslem, CEO of Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm. 'They're not military people; they are seafarers.' Ranslem said it would be premature to assume a change in the risk profile for shipping, though it does appear the Houthis have sharpened the precision of their attacks. Prior to this week's fatalities, four people had died in Houthi attacks in the area, according to data from JMIC. That includes three seafarers in one incident in March 2024. In addition, the US Embassy in Yemen said the militant group has kidnapped 'many surviving crew members' of the Eternity C, calling for their immediate and unconditional release. The Houthi group earlier said it rescued a number of the ship's crew members, provided them with medical care and transported them to a safe location. The latest attacks also double the number of boats sunk by the militant group. In June last year, the Houthis captured a dry-bulk carrier called the Tutor and sank it with explosives. They submerged another ship, the Rubymar, earlier that year. Stem Shipping stopped sailing through the Suez Canal after the Houthis attacked the Sounion, a Greek-operated oil tanker, last August, Bodouroglou said. The company resumed navigation after the US announced a ceasefire with the Houthis in May, but would now be 'very skeptical' of returning, he said.
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- RTÉ News
Two crew dead after attack on Greek vessel in Red Sea, Liberian shipping delegation says
Two crew members of the Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated, bulk carrier Eternity C have been killed following an attack by sea drones and speed boats, Liberia's shipping delegation told a meeting of the UN shipping agency IMO. The incident is reported to have happened off Yemen yesterday evening. The deaths, the first since June 2024, bring the total number of seafarers killed in attacks on vessels in the Red Sea to six. The vessel's bridge was hit and telecommunications were impacted, a company official said. Maritime security sources said the vessel, which was unladen, has suffered severe damage and is currently listing. The crew was ordered to abandon the ship, but the lifeboats had been destroyed, two sources said. The ship was adrift, an Aspides official said. At the time of the incident, no warship of the Aspides mission was close to the vessel. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, so far. Earlier yesterday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on the Greek-operated MV Magic Seas bulk carrier off southwest Yemen. The raid involved gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from eight skiffs as well as missiles and four uncrewed surface vessels. The 19 crew were forced to abandon the Liberian-flagged vessel as it was taking on water. They were picked up by a passing ship and have arrived safely in Djibouti, sources said. The Houthis said they sunk the vessel. But Michael Bodouroglou, a representative of Stem Shipping, one of the ship's commercial managers, said there was no independent verification. Growing operational risk The crew had reported fires at the vessel's forepeak, in the bow. The engine room and at least two holds were flooded, and there was no electricity. Aspides had earlier warned of a risk of explosion in the ship's vicinity. Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Houthis have been attacking Israel and vessels in the Red Sea in what they say areacts of solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel has struck Houthi targets in response, launching strikes yesterday for the first time in nearly a month. A US-Houthi ceasefire deal in May did not include Israel. The latest attacks highlight a growing operational risk to commercial operators whose vessels have called at Israeli ports, Maritime security firm Diaplous said. Magic Seas was carrying iron and fertilisers from China to Turkey, a voyage that appeared low-risk as it had nothing to do with Israel, Bodouroglou said, adding that Stem Shipping had received no warning of the attack. But the fleet of Allseas Marine, Magic Seas' other commercial manager, had made calls to Israeli ports over the past year, according to analysis by UK-based maritime risk management company Vanguard Tech. "These factors put the Magic Seas at an extreme risk of being targeted," said Ellie Shafik, head of intelligence with Vanguard Tech. The manager of Eternity C is also affiliated with vessels that have made calls to Israeli ports, security sources said. John Xylas, chairman of the dry bulk shipping association Intercargo, said the crew were "innocent people, simply doing their jobs, keeping global trade moving".
The Herald
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald
Two crew wounded, two missing in attack on ship off Yemen; Houthis claim assault on Greek bulk carrier
The ship was adrift, an Aspides official said later, after an attack by sea drones and four speedboats with individuals who launched at least four rocket-propelled grenades. The ship had not requested escort or protection from the naval force, the official said. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. Earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on the Greek-operated MV Magic Seas bulk carrier off southwest Yemen. The raid involved gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from eight skiffs and missiles and four uncrewed surface vessels. The 19 crew members were forced to abandon the Liberian-flagged vessel as it was taking on water. They were picked up by a passing ship and arrived safely in Djibouti, sources said. Houthis said they sunk the vessel. However, Michael Bodouroglou, a representative of Stem Shipping, one of the ship's commercial managers, said there was no independent verification. The crew had reported fires at the vessel's forepeak, in the bow. The engine room and at least two holds were flooded, and there was no electricity. Aspides had earlier warned of a risk of explosion in the ship's vicinity. Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Houthis have been attacking Israel and vessels in the Red Sea in what they said are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel has struck Houthi targets in response, launching strikes on Monday for the first time in nearly a month. A US-Houthi ceasefire deal in May did not include Israel. The latest attacks highlight a growing operational risk to commercial operators whose vessels have called at Israeli ports, said Maritime security firm Diaplous. Magic Seas was carrying iron and fertilisers from China to Turkey, a voyage that appeared low-risk as it had nothing to do with Israel, Bodouroglou said, adding Stem Shipping had received no warning of the attack. The fleet of Allseas Marine, Magic Seas' other commercial manager, had made calls to Israeli ports over the past year, according to analysis by UK-based maritime risk management company Vanguard Tech. 'These factors put the Magic Seas at an extreme risk of being targeted,' said Ellie Shafik, head of intelligence with Vanguard Tech. The manager of Eternity C is also affiliated with vessels that have made calls to Israeli ports, security sources said. John Xylas, chair of the dry bulk shipping association Intercargo, said the crew were 'innocent people, simply doing their jobs, keeping global trade moving'. 'No-one at sea should ever face such violence.' Reuters
Gulf Business
6 days ago
- General
- Gulf Business
UAE rescues 22 crew after Houthis sink ship in Red Sea
Image credit: Getty Images Yemen's Houthis said on Monday that a cargo ship they struck with gunfire, rockets and explosive-laden remote-controlled boats had sunk in the Red Sea, after their first known attack on the high seas this year. The ship's Greek operator Stem Shipping told Reuters it had no independent verification. Reuters could also not immediately verify whether the ship had sunk. The Houthis claimed responsibility for Sunday's assault and said they had allowed the 19 crew members to disembark from the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, the Magic Seas. All crew were rescued by a passing merchant vessel and were expected to arrive in Djibouti later on Monday, Stem Shipping told Reuters. The United Arab Emirates said on Monday it had successfully rescued all 22 people aboard the Magic Seas after an AD Ports Group vessel, Safeen Prism, responded to a distress call from the commercial ship following an attack in the Red Sea. The Magic Seas was taking on water after the attack and remained at risk of sinking, the company's representative, Michael Bodouroglou, had said earlier. The ship had been carrying iron and fertiliser from China to Turkey. The attack ended half a year of calm in the Red Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping routes, where Houthi attacks from the end of 2023 through late 2024 had disrupted shipping between Europe and Asia through the Suez Canal. The Houthis launched more than 100 attacks on ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait that links them, in what they described as solidarity with the Palestinians after war erupted in Gaza in 2023. But those attacks had halted this year, with the last known to have taken place in December.
GMA Network
6 days ago
- GMA Network
Filipinos among crew of ship attacked off Yemen; Houthis claim assault on Greek bulk carrier
ATHENS - Two crew members of a Greek-managed vessel were wounded and two were missing in a drone attack off Yemen on Monday, hours after Iran-aligned Houthi militants claimed an assault on another bulk carrier in the Red Sea, saying the ship had sunk. Monday's attack 50 nautical miles southwest of the port of Hodeidah was the second assault against merchant vessels in the vital shipping corridor by Houthis since November 2024, said an official at the European Union´s Operation Aspides, assigned to help protect Red Sea shipping. The Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C with 22 members on board — 21 Filipinos and one Russian — was attacked with sea drones and skiffs, its manager, Cosmoship Management, told Reuters. Two crew members were seriously wounded and two were missing, the company said, adding that three armed security guards were on board. The vessel's bridge was hit and telecommunications were impacted. The ship was adrift, an Aspides official said later, after an attack by sea drones and four speedboats with individuals who launched at least four rocket-propelled grenades. The ship had not requested escort or protection from the naval force, the official added. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. Earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on the Greek-operated MV Magic Seas bulk carrier off southwest Yemen. The raid involved gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from eight skiffs as well as missiles and four uncrewed surface vessels. The 19 crew members were forced to abandon the Liberian-flagged vessel as it was taking on water. They were picked up by a passing ship and have arrived safely in Djibouti, sources said. Houthis said they sunk the vessel. But Michael Bodouroglou, a representative of Stem Shipping, one of the ship's commercial managers, said there was no independent verification. The crew had reported fires at the vessel's forepeak, in the bow. The engine room and at least two holds were flooded, and there was no electricity. Aspides had earlier warned of a risk of explosion in the ship's vicinity. Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Houthis have been attacking Israel and vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel has struck Houthi targets in response, launching strikes on Monday for the first time in nearly a month. A US-Houthi ceasefire deal in May did not include Israel. The latest attacks highlight a growing operational risk to commercial operators whose vessels have called at Israeli ports, Maritime security firm Diaplous said. Magic Seas was carrying iron and fertilizers from China to Turkey, a voyage that appeared low-risk as it had nothing to do with Israel, Bodouroglou said, adding that Stem Shipping had received no warning of the attack. But the fleet of Allseas Marine, Magic Seas' other commercial manager, had made calls to Israeli ports over the past year, according to analysis by UK-based maritime risk management company Vanguard Tech. "These factors put the Magic Seas at an extreme risk of being targeted,' said Ellie Shafik, head of intelligence with Vanguard Tech. The manager of ETERNITY C is also affiliated with vessels that have made calls to Israeli ports, security sources said. John Xylas, chairman of the dry bulk shipping association Intercargo, said the crew were "innocent people, simply doing their jobs, keeping global trade moving". "No one at sea should ever face such violence," he said. —Reuters
