Two seafarers missing after Houthis strike another ship

TWO seafarers are missing and two more have been left injured following a Houthis strike against a second Greece-owned ship in the Red Sea on Monday.

The Liberia-flagged, 36,830 dwt bulker Eternity C. (IMO: 9588249) operated by Greece-based Cosmoship Management, was attacked in the Red Sea on Monday with “five rocket propelled grenades” and was being approached by small craft.

According to EU Naval forces the attack involved four speedboats and at least two unmanned aerial vehicles.

The attack took place about 51 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah.

Maritime risk management company Vanguard Tech said initial reports indicated “two missing, two injured, and vessel engine failure”. Reuters reported two crew members were seriously wounded and two more were missing, citing Cosmoship.

There were 22 crew aboard Eternity C at the time of the attack - 21 Filipinos, 1 Russian and a three-member security team.

Cosmoship has a vessel in its fleet inbound to Haifa, Israel, which the Houthis announced in May was under a “prohibition”, threatening to target ships of companies that call in the port.

Eternity C had not requested escort or protection from EU Naval Forces operation Aspides and, at the time of the incident, no EU warship was close to the vessel.

The incident marks the Houthis’ second strike in as many days, with the Iran-backed militants resuming their attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea after a near seven-months hiatus.

On Sunday, the Houthis attacked the 63,027 bulker Magic Seas (IMO: 9736169), forcing the crew to abandon the vessel after it was hit by projectiles and began taking on water.

In the early hours of Monday, Israel launched airstrikes targeting the Houthi-held ports of Ras Isa, Salif and Hodeidah, and the Ras Qantib power plant. The strikes on Ras Isa also targeted the car carrier Galaxy Leader (IMO: 9237307), which the Houthis hijacked in November 2023.

Automatic Identification System data shows Eternity C departed Berbera, Somalia, on Sunday, and switched off its AIS shortly after leaving the port as it headed north towards the Bab al Mandeb strait. AIS was then turned on again at about 16:18 UTC on Monday — around the time of the attack — when the ship was north of the strait. The ship was still broadcasting AIS around 21:20 UTC but the vessel appeared to be drifting southwards.

Eternity C’s arrived in Berbera at the end of June after sailing through the Red Sea. It departed Berbera close to noon on Sunday, right around the time when UKMTO reported the attack on Magic Seas.