Two crew members of a Greek-managed vessel have been wounded and two are lacking after a drone assault off Yemen on Monday, hours after Iran-aligned Houthi militants claimed an assault on one other bulk provider within the Purple Sea, saying the ship had sunk.
Monday’s assault 50 nautical miles southwest of the port of Hodeidah was the second assault by the Houthis towards service provider vessels within the important delivery hall since November 2024, stated an official on the European Union’s Operation Aspides, assigned to assist defend Purple Sea delivery.
The Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk provider Eternity C with 22 members on board – 21 Filipinos and one Russian – was attacked with sea drones and skiffs, its supervisor, Cosmoship Administration, instructed Reuters.
Two crew members have been significantly wounded and two have been lacking, the corporate stated, including that three armed safety guards have been on board. The vessel’s bridge was hit and telecommunications have been affected.
The ship was adrift, an Aspides official stated later, after an assault by sea drones and 4 speedboats with people who launched at the least 4 rocket-propelled grenades. The ship had not requested escort or safety from the naval drive, the official added.
There was no declare of duty for the assault.
Earlier, the Houthis claimed duty for Sunday’s assault on the Greek-operated MV Magic Seas bulk provider off southwest Yemen. The raid concerned gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from eight skiffs in addition to missiles and 4 uncrewed floor vessels.
The 19 crew members have been compelled to desert the Liberian-flagged vessel because it was taking over water. They have been picked up by a passing ship and have arrived safely in Djibouti, sources stated.
The Houthis stated they sunk the vessel, however Michael Bodouroglou, a consultant of Stem Transport, one of many ship’s business managers, stated there was no impartial verification that this had occurred.
The crew had reported fires on the vessel’s forepeak, within the bow. The engine room and at the least two holds have been flooded, and there was no electrical energy.
Aspides had earlier warned of a threat of explosion within the ship’s neighborhood.
Since Israel’s warfare in Gaza towards the Palestinian militant group Hamas started in October 2023, the Houthis have been attacking Israel and vessels within the Purple Sea in what they are saying are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel has struck Houthi targets in response, launching strikes on Monday for the primary time in almost a month. A US-Houthi ceasefire deal in May didn’t embody Israel. The most recent assaults spotlight a rising operational threat to business operators whose vessels have known as at Israeli ports, Maritime safety agency Diaplous stated.
Magic Seas was carrying iron and fertilisers from China to Turkey, a voyage that appeared low-risk because it had nothing to do with Israel, Bodouroglou stated, including that Stem Transport had obtained no warning of the assault.
However the fleet of Allseas Marine, Magic Seas’ different business supervisor, had made calls to Israeli ports over the previous yr, in line with evaluation by UK-based maritime threat administration firm Vanguard Tech.
“These components put the Magic Seas at an excessive threat of being focused,” stated Ellie Shafik, head of intelligence with Vanguard Tech.
John Xylas, chair of the dry bulk delivery affiliation Intercargo, stated the crew have been “harmless individuals, merely doing their jobs, retaining world commerce shifting“.
“Nobody at sea ought to ever face such violence,” he stated.
