Houthi attack on cargo ship Eternity C kills 3 mariners, European naval force says

DUBAI : An attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea killed three mariners and wounded two others, a European Union naval force said Tuesday. The attack on the Greek-owned Eternity C followed a claim by the Houthis to have attacked and sank another vessel on Monday in the Red Sea, a vital maritime trade route.

The twin assaults are the first Houthi attacks on shipping since November 2024 and could signal the start of a new campaign by the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels threatening the waterway, which had begun to see more ships pass through it in recent weeks.

The Eternity C bulk carrier had been heading north toward the Suez Canal when it came under fire by men in small boats and by bomb-carrying drones on Monday night. Security guards on board also fired their weapons. The European Union Operation Aspides and the private security firm Ambrey both reported those details.

While the Houthis haven’t claimed the attack, Yemen’s exiled government and the EU force blamed the rebels for the attack.

The EU force offered the casualty information, saying one of the wounded crew members lost his leg in the attack. The crew remain stuck on board the vessel, which is now drifting in the Red Sea.

The Houthis separately attacked the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas on Sunday with drones, missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire, forcing its crew of 22 to abandon the vessel. The rebels later said the Magic Seas sank in the Red Sea.