Latest news with #Greek-operated
GMA Network
4 days ago
- GMA Network
'I thought I was going to die': Pinoy sailor recounts Houthi attack in Red Sea
A view shows the sinking of what is said to be the Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier MV Magic Seas that was, according to Yemen's Houthis, attacked following an alleged exchange with the captain, off southwest Yemen, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 8, 2025. HOUTHI MEDIA CENTER/Handout via REUTERS Filipino seafarer Cocoy was off-duty and resting in his cabin when the captain's voice boomed over the intercom of the cargo ship: "We are under attack". The 38-year-old realized what sounded like a "knock" from inside the vessel was gunfire being exchanged by ship security and Houthi 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 Houthi 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 center 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." Of the 22 aboard the ship, 17 were Filipino . 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 Houthi projectiles. A Houthi 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% 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 Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The Iran-backed Houthis 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." —Agence France-Presse
The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
Greek owner of cocaine-loaded vessel seized in 2023 denies charges, lawyer says
FILE PHOTO: A police car is seen as police officers discharge drugs from the cattle ship Orion V seized off the Canary Islands, in the port of Las Palmas, in the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, January 26, 2023. REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File photo ATHENS (Reuters) -The Greek former owner of a cargo ship, seized by Spain in 2023 for carrying more than fourtons of cocaine along with coffee beans from Latin America to Europe, denies any link to drugs, his lawyer said on Friday. In January 2023, Spanish authorities intercepted the then Greek-operated, Togo-flagged vessel Blume, off the Canary Islands, finding cocaine worth about $200 million on board, in one of Spain's biggest cocaine hauls that year. They arrested its crew and took Blume, which had left Brazil for Russia, to the island of Tenerife. Greece this week detained its former owner, 68, his son, 24, and a woman. On Friday, the suspects appeared before a prosecutor to respond to charges that include running an international drug trafficking group at least since 2021. "The main investigation and a potential trial will confirm my clients' innocence," said their lawyer Sakis Kehagioglou, adding that the crew has been convicted over the case. Greek authorities have not named the detainees. A fourth suspect remains at large and is presumed to be in Turkey, said court documents seen by Reuters. Blume was monitored long before being intercepted, the documents said. British police were tipped off about the drug operation in September 2022. After scrutinising Blume's records, Spanish police concluded that it met the profile of vessels conducting ship-to-ship drug transfers. Tenerife authorities raided it on January 18, 2023, confiscating 153 bags of cocaine in a crew member's cabin and a storage room. Greece's probe found that the ship was bought in 2022 by Rentoor Chartering and operated by Dignatio Corp, both Marshall Islands-based companies set up by the 68-year-old suspect, a former police officer with a criminal record, the documents said. The renamed vessel was sold to a Turkish company in May. (Reporting by Yannis Souliotis; Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Straits Times
Greek owner of cocaine-loaded vessel seized in 2023 denies charges, lawyer says
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: A police car is seen as police officers discharge drugs from the cattle ship Orion V seized off the Canary Islands, in the port of Las Palmas, in the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, January 26, 2023. REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File photo ATHENS - The Greek former owner of a cargo ship, seized by Spain in 2023 for carrying more than four tons of cocaine along with coffee beans from Latin America to Europe, denies any link to drugs, his lawyer said on Friday. In January 2023, Spanish authorities intercepted the then Greek-operated, Togo-flagged vessel Blume, off the Canary Islands, finding cocaine worth about $200 million on board, in one of Spain's biggest cocaine hauls that year. They arrested its crew and took Blume, which had left Brazil for Russia, to the island of Tenerife. Greece this week detained its former owner, 68, his son, 24, and a woman. On Friday, the suspects appeared before a prosecutor to respond to charges that include running an international drug trafficking group at least since 2021. "The main investigation and a potential trial will confirm my clients' innocence," said their lawyer Sakis Kehagioglou, adding that the crew has been convicted over the case. Greek authorities have not named the detainees. A fourth suspect remains at large and is presumed to be in Turkey, said court documents seen by Reuters. Blume was monitored long before being intercepted, the documents said. British police were tipped off about the drug operation in September 2022. After scrutinising Blume's records, Spanish police concluded that it met the profile of vessels conducting ship-to-ship drug transfers. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 30% of aviation jobs could be redesigned due to AI, automation; $200m fund to support workers: CAAS Singapore HSA looking to get anti-vape cyber surveillance tool with AI capabilities Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Singapore Residents in South West District get help to improve employability, find career opportunities Singapore Jail for contraband cigarette syndicate member over conspiracy to give bribes to security officer Life Kinokuniya opens third bookstore in Raffles City, weeks ahead of schedule Business DBS shares rally to a new record as STI clocks yet another high Singapore 5 foreigners charged over scheme to deliberately get arrested in S'pore to sell sex drugs Tenerife authorities raided it on January 18, 2023, confiscating 153 bags of cocaine in a crew member's cabin and a storage room. Greece's probe found that the ship was bought in 2022 by Rentoor Chartering and operated by Dignatio Corp, both Marshall Islands-based companies set up by the 68-year-old suspect, a former police officer with a criminal record, the documents said. The renamed vessel was sold to a Turkish company in May. REUTERS
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Straits Times
Russian crew member of ship sunk by Houthi militants undergoing treatment in Yemen
FILE PHOTO: A vessel said to be Greek-operated, Liberia-flagged Eternity C sinks in a footage released by Yemen's Houthis, in the Red Sea, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 9, 2025. HOUTHI MEDIA CENTER/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo A Russian crew member of a Greek cargo ship sunk by Houthi militants is undergoing treatment in Yemen, Russia's state RIA news agency said on Thursday, quoting a source. RIA identified the Russian mariner as Aleksei Galaktionov, one of several crew members picked up by the Yemeni navy after the ship was sunk. It quoted a highly placed source as saying the man, who had suffered wounds in the attack, was now in a markedly improved condition. Maritime security sources had earlier reported that 10 mariners -- eight crew members and two security guards - had been rescued and taken to Saudi Arabia. The sources said all the crew were Filipino, except for one Russian. The sources said the Iran-aligned Houthis had sunk the Liberia-flagged Eternity C, with 22 crew and three armed guards on board, after attacking the vessel with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades over two consecutive days. The remaining 15 people who were on board were considered missing and a privately run search to find them has been called off. The Houthis have attacked more than 100 ships since November 2023 in what they say is an act of solidarity with the Palestinians over the Gaza war. REUTERS
The Star
5 days ago
- The Star
Greece arrests three over cocaine-loaded ship seized by Spain in 2023
FILE PHOTO: Police officers discharge drugs from the cattle ship Orion V that was seized off the Canary Islands, in the port of Las Palmas, in the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, January 26, 2023. REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File photo ATHENS (Reuters) -Greece has arrested three people linked with a cargo ship seized by Spanish authorities off the Canary Islands in 2023 for carrying more than 4.5 tons of cocaine from Latin America to Europe, three people close to the investigation said on Thursday. The then Greek-operated, Togo-flagged vessel Blume, which had left from Brazil, had declared a 200 tonne cargo of coffee, far below its actual capacity, raising suspicion.
