Houthis Terrorise 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.”

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. 

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.