Two crew killed in Red Sea ship attack, Liberian shipping delegation says
The deaths, the first since June 2024, bring the total number of seafarers killed in attacks on vessels in the Red Sea to six.
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France 24
17-07-2025
- France 24
'I thought I was going to die': sailor recounts Huthi attack in Red Sea
The 38-year-old realised what sounded like a "knock" from inside the vessel was gunfire being exchanged by ship security and Huthi rebels swarming the ship in small boats. The July 6 assault on the Greek-owned Magic Seas broke a months-long lull in attacks by Yemen's Huthi rebels on Red Sea shipping, which began after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Crew members scrambled to reach the "muster station" at the centre of the ship, considered the safest place should a projectile strike the vessel. "There was panic, but we knew we had to move. It's like we were on autopilot," said Cocoy, who asked to be referred to by his nickname as he undergoes a debriefing. "(The crew) were in a daze, but they were all rushing to do their assigned jobs for our safety protocol... maybe I looked dazed too," he told AFP. "There were speedboats from the right, left and back of our ship," he said, relaying what the ship's security team had told him. "There was also a bigger boat with around 15 crew who were attempting to board our ship, but luckily, our armed guards were able to stop them." The group huddled inside the muster station for nearly five hours as the ship's three armed Sri Lankan security guards tried to stave off the attack. "I lost count of how many hits we took," he told AFP of Huthi projectiles. A Huthi spokesman would later claim that five ballistic and cruise missiles and three drones had been employed in the attack. One would breach the hull. "The flooding had started so we decided to abandon the ship," Cocoy said. "We deployed our lifeboat, all 22 of us, and left our main vessel." Filipino sailors make up as much as 30 percent of the world's commercial shipping force. The nearly $7 billion they sent home in 2023 accounted for about a fifth of remittances sent to the archipelago nation. While a seafarer for more than 15 years, it was Cocoy's first passage through the Red Sea, and what he called a case of "really bad timing". "During the gunfight, the faces of my wife and child flashed before my eyes. I kept thinking... will they survive without me?" he said. "I thought I was going to die." After abandoning ship, Cocoy and his shipmates spent three hours floating in the Red Sea before being picked up by a Panama-flagged container ship. "They were the longest hours of my life," he said. The Magic Seas was no longer within their sight as it sank beneath the waves. 'We were just lucky' A day after Cocoy's ordeal, another vessel crewed largely by Filipino sailors, the Eternity C, was attacked and sunk. Ten of those aboard were rescued. Another 15 are dead or missing. It was the deadliest such assault since three people were killed in a missile attack on another ship in March last year. On Wednesday night, eight Filipinos rescued from the Eternity C landed at Manila's international airport. The Iran-backed Huthis said last week they had "rescued" an unspecified number of the Eternity C's crew and taken them to a safe location, prompting charges of kidnapping by the US government. Maritime news journal Lloyd's List reported six Filipino seafarers as "believed taken hostage". The Philippine government has so far offered no information about the possibility of either hostages or negotiations. "I feel terrified for the (missing) Eternity C crew," Cocoy told AFP. "We were just lucky, because all of us survived... I pray that many of their crew can still be located alive." Cocoy, who is plagued by nightmares of the attack, said he is unsure if he will return to the sea. "What happened to us was not normal," he said, urging shipowners to find routes that avoid the Red Sea. "It's something that no one should ever experience." © 2025 AFP
France 24
11-07-2025
- France 24
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France 24
10-07-2025
- France 24
Ten rescued, more missing after deadly Huthi ship sinking
Three Filipino crew and a Greek member of the Eternity C ship's onboard security team were plucked from the sea overnight, "bringing the total number of those rescued to 10", the European Union's Operation Aspides force posted on X. On Wednesday, the Iran-backed Huthis said they had "rescued" an unspecified number of the Eternity C's crew and taken them to a safe location. The US embassy for Yemen accused the rebels of kidnapping the survivors. The deadly attack was the second such assault on a commercial vessel in recent days, marking a serious escalation in a key waterway and threatening a May truce with the United States meant to safeguard freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Huthis also released a propaganda video showing the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier being attacked and sunk -- the second sinking of a cargo ship in quick succession, after they scuttled the Magic Seas on Sunday. A total of 25 people were onboard the Liberian-flagged Eternity C, according to Aspides, the EU's naval task force patrolling the Red Sea. On Tuesday, the force told AFP that three people were killed and at least two wounded, including a Russian electrician who lost a leg, in the Huthi attack. The two consecutive incidents broke a months-long lull in Huthi ship attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which began after the start of the Gaza war. The attacks, which the Huthis say are against Israel-linked shipping and in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, have forced many companies to avoid a route that normally carries about 12 percent of global trade. 'Grave concern' The Huthis, who control large swathes of the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country, had paused their shipping attacks this year after a Gaza ceasefire started in January. Huthi-held areas of Yemen also came under weeks of heavy attack by the United States military until a ceasefire in May. However, the rebels told AFP at the time that they would continue to attack "Israeli" ships. The Magic Seas and Eternity C were probably attacked "due to prior Israeli port calls or ownership/ship manager affiliations", according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre, run by Western navies. The United Nations envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, expressed "grave concern" over the latest attacks that resulted in "civilian loss of life and casualties as well as the potential for environmental damage". While the Magic Seas crew was rescued by an Emirati ship, the attack on the Eternity C is the most deadly since three were killed in a missile attack on the True Confidence merchant vessel in March last year. Other Huthi attacks include the storming and hijacking of the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier, in November 2023, and the sinking of the Rubymar carrying 21,000 tonnes of fertiliser in February 2024.
