Attacks on the Eternity C

On 7 July 2025, the Houthis attacked MV Eternity C, a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier, in the southern Red Sea on route from Berbera, Somalia, where it has been delivering aid. The vessel was assaulted with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades and was seriously damaged. The attacks killed, injured, or resulted in the kidnapping more than 25 Filipino, Greek, and Russian crew members. The vessel was abandoned and sank shortly after the attacks. Four people have been confirmed killed. Ten crew members were rescued, five others were reported missing, and six were kidnapped.^[1]

Attacks on the MV Eternity C
Part of the Red Sea crisis, Houthi attacks on commercial vessels and Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)
Location	Red Sea
Date	7–8 July 2025
Target	MV Eternity C
Weapons	Unmanned aerial vehicles Unmanned surface vessels Rocket-propelled grenades
Deaths	4
Perpetrators	Houthis

The Houthis stated they attacked Eternity C because the vessel's operator continues to make port visits to Israel with other ships,^[2] and that they took an unspecified number of crew to a "safe location", although the United States stated the Houthis had taken the crew hostage.^[3] The vessel is registered in Monrovia, and owned and managed by Cosmo Ship Management of Athens, Greece.^[4]

During the same period, the merchant ship Magic Seas was hijacked and sunk by the Houthis after an attack.

Background

Red Sea crisis

Main articles: Red Sea crisis and Houthi attacks on commercial vessels

Since November 2023, the Houthis, who captured the capital of Yemen in 2014 during the country's civil war, have conducted attacks against merchant and naval vessels they claim are linked to Israel, mainly in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.^[5] The Houthis state the attacks are carried out in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza war. The attacks sparked airstrikes led by the United States, Israel, and the United Kingdom against targets in Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.^[6]

The attacks forced companies to halt shipping in the Red Sea, which previously accounted for 12% of global trade.^[7][8]

MV Eternity C

MV Eternity C was a bulk carrier which sailed under the flag of Liberia. The ship had completed a humanitarian delivery for the World Food Programme to Berbera, Somalia, where it has arrived in late June and left around noon on 6 June, and was heading to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to refuel.^[9][10][11]

Attack

Eternity C was attacked by Houthi sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades fired from skiffs in the afternoon of 7 July 2025. The vessel was attacked again on 8 July 2025 at night, forcing the crew to jump into the water.^[12] A search and rescue operation was executed. The fate of the ship's 22 crew and three-person security team remains unclear. Reuters reported that two crew members were injured and one Russian and three Filipinos were killed in the attack and its aftermath.^[12]

According to US officials, there were 25 people on board of Eternity C.^[13]

According to an UKMTO notice on 9 July 2025 five crew members had been rescued since search and rescue operations began overnight. Reuters reports that the rescued included four crew members and one private maritime security contractor, who were pulled from the water after more than 24 hours in the sea.^[14] Later that day, according to The Guardian, seven crew members have been rescued and 14 others were still missing at that day.^[12] By 10 July, ten crew members were rescued, six were kidnapped and five were missing.^[1] According to US sources and Houthis officials a number of the surviving crew members were abducted by the Houthis. The US demanded their immediate release.^[13][15]

The EU military Operation Aspides announced on 11 July 2025 that four more sailors from the ship had been rescued. 12 people remain missing or kidnapped.^[15]

On July 28, the Houthis released a propaganda video, which was posted later in X,^[16] showing ten crew members of the Eternity C being held.^[17] Among them are nine Filipinos^[16] and a Russian electrician who had lost his leg onboard the ship.^[18] The video claimed that the rebels rescued the crew, pulling them from the sea,^[19] as reportedly detailed by the latter.^[17] According to the rebels, eleven crew members were rescued, including the two injured who were treated, and another who later died.^[19] The Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines later said that a Filipino and a foreign personnel were injured, and these Filipino sailors were moved to rebel-controlled Sana'a.^[20]