The Houthis, an armed group in Yemen, have claimed to have rescued 10 crew members from the ‘Eternity Sea’ cargo ship, which they sank in the Red Sea on July 7. The Greek-owned vessel, sailing under the Liberian flag, was attacked by the Houthis for allegedly transporting goods to Israel. The Houthis used various weapons, including maritime drones and rocket-propelled bombs, to attack the ship. Four crew members died in the incident. As the ship began to sink, the crew and three security guards were forced to jump into the sea. Ten people were rescued from the sinking area, while five remain missing. The remaining ten are under Houthi custody.
On July 28, the Houthis released a six-minute video showing the crew members under their control. The video shows some of them contacting their families. Some crew members in the video state that they were unaware the ship was traveling to destinations associated with Israel. They mention the ship was heading to the Israeli port of Eilat. The Philippine government has confirmed that nine of the rescued crew members are Filipino nationals. Hans Cacdac, a minister from the country, referring to the crew members’ families, stated that the crew members are in good physical condition. He said the government is working on arrangements to bring them back to the country.
The Eternity Sea is the second ship sunk by the Houthis this month. Shortly before sinking the Eternity Sea, the group had also sunk a ship called The Magic Seas. In response to Israel’s inhumane attacks on Gaza’s Muslims that began on October 7, 2023, the Houthis started attacking cargo ships associated with Israel in November 2023, including American vessels. Between November 2023 and January of this year, the Houthis launched over 100 attacks targeting main shipping routes. In these attacks, two vessels were sunk, and another was taken under Houthi control. These attacks disrupted international trade and forced ships to change their routes, resulting in longer journeys and increased costs.
On January 19, when a ceasefire agreement was established between Hamas, the governing group in Gaza, and Israel, the Houthis also suspended their attacks targeting Israel. However, as the first phase of the agreement ended and Israel continued to restrict food and humanitarian aid to Gaza, the Houthis resumed their attacks. Consequently, in March, the United States began launching strong attacks against the Houthis. The exchange of attacks between the two sides ended on May 6 when Oman mediated an agreement to cease hostilities. However, last month, as Israel initiated attacks on Iran, the Houthis warned that if the United States participates in these attacks, they would again target American cargo ships in the Red Sea.
On July 27, the Houthis announced the start of their fourth phase of military operations, stating they would attack any vessel associated with companies trading with Israeli ports. They also said they would not discriminate based on a ship’s country of origin in their attacks. The Red Sea trade route targeted by the Houthis is one of the busiest in the world, with annual goods worth one trillion US dollars passing through. Recently, when the Houthis attacked and sank a cargo ship called Magic Seas, the insurance rates for vessels traveling this route increased from 0.4% to 1% of the vessel’s value. Consequently, an additional sum of over 700,000 US dollars is now required for insurance for each journey on this route.
