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GMA Network
14-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
DFA Chief to Pinoy sailors: Avoid Red Sea
Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro appealed to Filipino seafarers to avoid sailing to the Red Sea. (Photo by Michaela del Callar) Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro on Monday appealed to Filipino seafarers to avoid sailing to the Red Sea following the back-to-back deadly attacks against two cargo vessels by Houthi rebels. Both the MV Magic Seas and the MV Eternity, attacked by the Iran-backed Yemeni group a day apart, were manned by Filipino crew. The two ships sank off the Red Sea – a key trade route. 'We encourage our Filipino sailors to avoid sailing in the Red Sea while the situation remains dangerous,' Lazaro said in a press briefing. All 17 Filipino seamen from the Magic Sea survived the assault, while eight were rescued from the Eternity, including the Filipino captain. The fate of the rest of the 13 of the 21 Filipinos from the Eternity was unknown amid reports that the rebels took several hostages from the sunken vessel. Houthis have repeatedly targeted ships it claims have links to Israel and have vowed to step up attacks until the country ends its aggression in Gaza. Lazaro said the DFA and its diplomatic posts, along with the Department of Migrant Workers, are coordinating with relevant agencies for the rescue of the missing Filipinos. Manila is also in touch with Saudi Arabia and the UK, as well as the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), she added. 'The DFA continues to advocate for the rights, safety, and decent conditions for our seafarers,' Lazaro said. Piracy and ransom kidnappings of Filipino sailors, particularly in waters off Africa, have long been a problem for the Philippine government, as it cannot monitor their movements when at sea. The Philippines is one of the world's largest providers of shipping manpower. A bulk of Filipino seamen or more than 20 percent of the world's 1.2 million sailors are manning oil tankers, cargo ships, luxury liners, and passenger vessels worldwide, exposing them to attacks. —LDF, GMA Integrated News
Yemen Online
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Yemen Online
Yemen : Search for survivors after Houthis sink second Red Sea cargo ship in a week
Ten crew members have been rescued and at least three others killed after a cargo ship was attacked by Yemen's Houthis and sank in the Red Sea, a European naval mission says. The Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated Eternity C was carrying 25 crew when it sustained significant damage and lost all propulsion after being hit by rocket-propelled grenades fired from small boats on Monday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency. The attack continued on Tuesday and search rescue operations commenced overnight. The Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked the Eternity C because it was heading to Israel, and that they took an unspecified number of crew to a "safe location". The US embassy in Yemen said the Houthis had "kidnapped many surviving crew members" and called for their immediate release. Authorities in the Philippines said 21 of the crew were citizens. Another of them is a Russian national who was severely wounded in the attack and lost a leg. The EU's naval mission in the Red Sea, Operation Aspides, said four more people were rescued on Wednesday night, included three Filipinos and one Greek citizen, bringing the total rescued to 10. Greece-based maritime security firm Diaplous released a video on Wednesday that showed the rescue of at least five seafarers who it said had spent more then 24 hours in the water, according to Reuters news agency. "We will continue to search for the remaining crew until the last light," Diaplous said. Reuters also cited maritime security firms as saying that the death toll was four. It is the second vessel the Houthis have sunk in a week, after the group on Sunday launched missiles and drones at another Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated cargo ship, Magic Seas, which they claimed "belong[ed] to a company that violated the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine". Video footage released by the Houthis on Tuesday showed armed men boarding the vessel and setting off a series of explosions which caused it to sink. All 22 crew of Magic Seas were safely rescued by a passing merchant vessel. Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted around 70 merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They have now sunk four ships, seized a fifth, and killed at least seven crew members. The group has said it is acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and have claimed - often falsely - that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK, which have carried out air strikes on Yemen in response. The US state department condemned the attacks on the Magic Seas and Eternity C, which it said "demonstrate the ongoing threat that Iran-backed Houthi rebels pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security". "The United States has been clear: we will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping from Houthi terrorist attacks, which must be condemned by all members of the international community." In a separate development on Thursday, Israel's military said its air force intercepted a missile launched from Yemen. It gave no further details. In May, the Houthis agreed a ceasefire deal with the US following seven weeks of intensified US strikes on Yemen in response to the attacks on international shipping. However, they said the agreement did not include an end to attacks on Israel, which has conducted multiple rounds of retaliatory strikes on Yemen. The secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) called for intensified diplomatic efforts following the new wave of attacks. "After several months of calm, the resumption of deplorable attacks in the Red Sea constitutes a renewed violation of international law and freedom of navigation," Arsenio Dominguez said. "Innocent seafarers and local populations are the main victims of these attacks and the pollution they cause," he warned.
Saudi Gazette
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Search for survivors after Houthis sink second Red Sea cargo ship in a week
CAIRO — Six crew members have been rescued and at least three others killed after a cargo ship was attacked by Yemen's Houthis and sank in the Red Sea, a European naval mission says. The Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated Eternity C was carrying 25 crew when it sustained significant damage and lost all propulsion after being hit by rocket-propelled grenades fired from small boats on Monday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency. The attack continued on Tuesday and search rescue operations commenced overnight. The Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked the Eternity C because it was heading to Israel, and that they took an unspecified number of crew to a "safe location". The US embassy in Yemen said the Houthis had "kidnapped many surviving crew members" and called for their immediate release. Authorities in the Philippines said 21 of the crew were citizens. Another of them is a Russian national who was severely wounded in the attack and lost a leg. It is the second vessel the Houthis have sunk in a week, after the group on Sunday launched missiles and drones at another Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated cargo ship, Magic Seas, which they claimed "belong[ed] to a company that violated the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine". Video footage released by the Houthis on Tuesday showed armed men boarding the vessel and setting off a series of explosions which caused it to sink. All 22 crew of Magic Seas were safely rescued by a passing merchant vessel. Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted around 70 merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They have now sunk four ships, seized a fifth, and killed at least seven crew members. The group has said it is acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and have claimed - often falsely - that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK, which have carried out air strikes on Yemen in response. On Wednesday the EU's naval mission in the Red Sea, Operation Aspides, said it was participating in the international response to the attack on the Eternity C and that "currently six castaway crew members have been recovered from the sea". An Aspides official told AFP news agency that five were Filipinos and one was Indian, and that 19 others were still missing. The Greece-based maritime security firm Diaplous released a video on Wednesday that showed the rescue of at least five seafarers who it said had spent more then 24 hours in the water, according to Reuters news agency. "We will continue to search for the remaining crew until the last light," Diaplous said. Reuters also cited maritime security firms as saying that the death toll was four. The US state department condemned the attacks on the Magic Seas and Eternity C, which it said "demonstrate the ongoing threat that Iran-backed Houthi rebels pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security". "The United States has been clear: we will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping from Houthi terrorist attacks, which must be condemned by all members of the international community." In May, the Houthis agreed a ceasefire deal with the US following seven weeks of intensified US strikes on Yemen in response to the attacks on international shipping. However, they said the agreement did not include an end to attacks on Israel, which has conducted multiple rounds of retaliatory strikes on Yemen. The secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) called for intensified diplomatic efforts following the new wave of attacks. "After several months of calm, the resumption of deplorable attacks in the Red Sea constitutes a renewed violation of international law and freedom of navigation," Arsenio Dominguez said. "Innocent seafarers and local populations are the main victims of these attacks and the pollution they cause," he warned. — BBC
Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Indian Express
At least 4 killed, 15 missing after Houthis sink second Red Sea cargo ship in a week
At least four people were killed and six crew members were rescued alive after Yemen based Houthi militant group attacked and sank a second ship in the Red Sea this week, while the whereabouts of 15 others aboard the ship remain unknown, a European naval mission said. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attack which the maritime officials said have killed 4 out of the 25 aboard the cargo ship. The Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated Eternity C sustained heavy damage and lost all propulsion after small boats hit the ship via rocket-propelled grenades on Monday and the Eternity C went down on Wednesday, stated UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The attack by the Houthi militants continued on Tuesday while search and rescue operations were launched overnight. The six seafarers spent more than 24 hours in the waters before being rescued alive, Reuters reported. 20250709-UKMTO_WARNING_INCIDENT_027-25-UPDATE 004https:// #MarSec — UKMTO Ops Centre (@UK_MTO) July 9, 2025 The United States Mission in Yemen accused the Iran-backed Houthis of kidnapping several surviving crew members from the Eternity C and called for their immediate release. Houthis later stated that they attacked the Eternity C as it was heading to Israel, and acknowledged that they took an unspecified number of crew to a 'safe location'. In a televised address, Houthis military spokesperson said 'The Yemeni Navy responded to rescue a number of the ship's crew, provide them with medical care, and transport them to a safe location,' Reuters reported. The Philippines administration stated that 21 members of the crew were its citizens. One of the crew was a Russian national who was seriously injured in the attack and lost a leg. Houthis have attacked second cargo ship in a week in Red Sea as the militant group attacked a vessel on Sunday with drones and missiles which was also a Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated cargo ship, Magic Seas which they claimed 'belonged to a company that violated the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine,' BBC reported.
Irish Independent
09-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Yemen's Houthi rebels continue assault on commercial ship in Red Sea
two lines subhead two lines subhead two lines subhead two lines subhead ©Bloomberg Yemen's Houthi militants continued to pound a commercial ship in the Red Sea – hours after beginning an assault on the vessel that left crew missing – the latest sign that the Tehran-backed group is once again escalating its threat to the merchant fleet. 'The vessel has sustained significant damage and has lost all propulsion,' the UK Maritime Trade Operations (MTO), a liaison between the UK navy and commercial shipping, said yesterday.
