After a brief lull, the Houthis have resumed attacks on ships in the Red Sea, with fatalities reported for the first time in a year.
Houthi footage of sinking a cargo ship off the coast of Yemen
Eternity C had 22 crew members — 21 Filipinos and one Russian. At least two more were wounded, an Aspides source told Reuters. The ship was heading north toward the Suez Canal when it was assaulted by armed small boats and bomb-armed drones. Security personnel aboard returned fire. Maritime security sources told Reuters that the ship is currently drifting, listing to one side due to the damage it sustained.
Earlier in the evening, the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking another Liberian-flagged Greek-operated cargo vessel, Magic Seas. The ship was hit on Sunday approximately 100 km southwest of the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah, and the Houthis say it sank. The vessel's manager said the information about the sinking could not be verified.
All crew on the Magic Seas were rescued by a passing merchant vessel and arrived safely in Djibouti on Monday, Djibouti authorities said.
The Houthis released dramatic footage depicting the assault—featuring drones, missiles, RPGs and small arms. After the crew abandoned ship, armed terrorists boarded it, shouting “Allahu Akbar!” from the bridge, whose windows were mostly shattered. The video ends with what appears to be the ship sinking — though the operating company says there’s no independent verification.
In the video, Houthi fighters can be heard ordering the vessel to stop for a security inspection. One fighter, speaking English, instructs the captain:
“Stop the ship immediately! For the safety of your ship and your crew! Otherwise, you will be under our responsibility.”
November will mark two years of near-continuous Houthi attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea, which they say are in response to Israeli actions in Gaza. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis launched more than 100 attacks on merchant ships using missiles and drones, sank three vessels, and killed eight sailors. These attacks caused a sharp drop in trade through the Red Sea, which handles about $1 trillion in goods annually.
