Ten rescued in Red Sea operation after Houthis sink bulker

There were 25 individuals, 22 crew and three security members, on board Eternity C when it was attacked by the Houthis on July 7.

A total of 10 people, eight crew members and two security team members, have been safely recovered.

Another five remain missing, while six are reported to have been taken by the Houthis.

The militant group said it had “rescued” individuals from the water in a statement yesterday.

Four people are presumed to be dead.

British security firm Ambrey and Cyprus-headquartered firm Diaplous Group are leading the search and rescue operation.

Eternity C was first attacked on Monday afternoon, with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades fired from speed boats. Lifeboats were destroyed during the raid and by Tuesday morning the vessel was adrift and listing.

The ship sunk on Wednesday morning after two days of repeated Houthi attacks.

It was the second bulk carrier to have been targeted — and sunk — by the Iran-backed militant group this week.

On July 6 the Houthis attacked the 63,027 dwt Liberia-flagged bulker Magic Seas (IMO: 9736169).

Merchant traffic through the Bab el Mandeb remains normal despite these devastating incidents.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel tracking data reveals 32 cargo-carrying ships above 10,000 dwt passed through the chokepoint yesterday.

Some 30 ships transited on July 8 and 34 on July 7, close to the June daily average of 31.5.