Yemen's Houthi militants continued to pound a commercial ship in the Red Sea — hours after beginning an assault on the vessel that left crew missing — the latest sign that the Tehran-backed group is once again escalating its threat to the merchant fleet.
“The vessel has sustained significant damage and has lost all propulsion,” the UK Maritime Trade Operations, a liaison between the UK navy and commercial shipping, said on Tuesday. “The vessel is surrounded by small craft and is under continuous attack.”
While ships had already been heavily deterred from using the Red Sea, the latest attack — coming just a few weeks after Israel's military confrontation with Iran but with the Gaza war still raging — will add to the anxieties of crews being asked to sail ships through. It's an unavoidable area when using Egypt's Suez Canal to cut between Asia and Europe.
20250708-UKMTO_WARNING_INCIDENT_027-25-UPDATE 002https://t.co/yo0ifPJJjr#MaritimeSecurity #MARSEC pic.twitter.com/3NPnthXFLl
July 8, 2025Tuesday's update said the attacks were ongoing as of about 8 a.m. London time — about 14 hours after the UKMTO first reported an incident started with rocket propelled grenades and an approach by multiple boats. It didn't name the vessel. Two people on board a ship called Eternity C were injured and two others went missing, the duty officer of Cosmoship, the carrier's owner, said Monday. It didn't answer calls on Tuesday.
“These incidents highlight the Houthis' disregard for human life, as they continue to exploit seafarers as pawns in their strategic conflicts,” said Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at BIMCO, the world's largest direct-membership trade group for the shipping industry.
The Eternity C was carrying grains to Somalia for the World Food Programme and was attacked after completing the trip.
The latest incident happened about about 51 nautical miles west of Yemen's Hodeida and came shortly after the Houthis claimed responsibility for an earlier attack on a ship in the same area. On Sunday, they fired drones and missiles at the Magic Seas, an Ultramax vessel owned by Greece's Stem Shipping, the Houthis' spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised statement.
That vessel was targeted because it called at Israeli ports in the past, Saree said. Representatives of Stem Shipping were not immediately available to comment.
The Houthis started attacking commercial ships in late 2023, their response to Israel's war in Gaza.
Their move caused a widespread avoidance of the area — and by extension the Suez Canal — by the merchant fleet. Traffic through Suez, a critical trade artery, remained low in the first half of 2025 despite an absence of new attacks. In May, US President Donald Trump said a truce had been brokered with the Houthis for American ships.
The return of attacks, especially given their severity, could once again deter more owners and crews against going through the region and boost freight rates and insurance costs for shippers.
The United Arab Emirates said the vessel Safeen Prism, operated by AD Ports Group, responded to a distress call from Magic Seas and rescued all 22 individuals on board.
The Israel Defense Forces carried out airstrikes on Al Hudaydah, Ras Issa and Al-Salif ports on the Red Sea and a power plant in Al Hudaydah on Sunday, according to a post on its X account, following the attack on the Magic Seas.
Israel also hit the Galaxy Leader, a ship captured by the Houthis in November 2023, saying they used it to “track international vessels for terror operations.”
Larsen of BIMCO said the attacks could boost ship-insurance rates even if they're less likely to affect shipping patterns.
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