Houthi Sea Drones Sink 2 Cargo Ships, Shatter Red Sea Truce
Rebel strikes kill at least four sailors and reignite fears for global trade routes
Iran-backed Houthi rebels sank two Liberian-flagged cargo ships in the southern Red Sea this week, killing at least four sailors and leaving 19 others unaccounted for, European naval officials and shipping-security firms said Wednesday. The attacks—carried out from Monday through early Wednesday with sea drones, rocket-propelled grenades, and speedboats—ended a months-long lull in a campaign the Houthis say is meant to pressure Israel over the war in Gaza.
We will continue to search for the remaining crew until the last light
Operation Aspides, the European Union task force guarding commercial traffic, confirmed that six castaways—five Filipinos and one Indian—were pulled from the water after more than a day adrift. The rescued mariners had abandoned the bulk carrier Eternity C after consecutive strikes left it listing and aflame. “We will continue to search for the remaining crew until the last light,” said an official with Diaplous, the Greece-based risk-management firm coordinating the rescue.
The naval force of the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted the ship (Eternity C)
The attack followed Sunday’s armed boarding and scuttling of the Liberian-flagged Magic Seas, whose entire crew was evacuated before the vessel slipped beneath the waves. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree boasted, “The naval force of the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted the ship (Eternity C),” adding that the action showed solidarity with Palestinians.
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From November 2023 through December 2024 the Houthis struck more than 100 vessels, causing many carriers to send cargo around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Oil prices spiked again Wednesday as news of the latest attacks broke. The violence resumes only weeks after President Donald Trump announced what he called a cease-fire designed “to restore freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.” At the time, the US president said of the rebels, “They just don’t want to fight. They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore.”
Oman brokered that May truce between Washington and the Houthis, but the agreement never covered ships linked to Israel. The Joint Maritime Information Centre, run by Western navies, said both the Eternity C and Magic Seas had recent business ties to Israeli ports or management firms.
They just don’t want to fight. They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore.
Security sources told Reuters that Eternity C first came under fire Monday when fighters in small boats launched sea drones and rockets, destroying lifeboats and forcing the 25-member crew to shelter in place. A second barrage Tuesday morning disabled the ship’s power, prompting 21 Filipino sailors, a Russian electrician, and three armed guards to jump overboard. At least four crew members died before they could escape. One sailor lost a leg, according to EU officials.
The Houthis remained alongside the crippled bulker until predawn Wednesday, then vanished as rescue helicopters and warships converged. Skiffs in the area raised fears that some missing sailors may have been seized, a scenario diplomats in Athens and Manila said could not yet be ruled out.
“The most violent attack yet” is how the US Embassy in Yemen labeled the strike, accusing the Houthis of displaying a “blatant disregard for human life” and “undermining freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.” Israeli forces, already trading missiles and drones with the Houthis, responded with fresh airstrikes on rebel positions near Hodeida, according to regional media reports.
The renewed danger places fresh pressure on President Trump’s cease-fire as well as on an international coalition that has patrolled the waterway for two decades. Twelve % of global trade normally transits the Red Sea en route to Egypt’s Suez Canal.
Insurance premiums for trans-Suez voyages climbed again this week, and the benchmark Brent crude contract stayed near its highest price since late June. Greek diplomats said Athens is consulting Saudi Arabia on next steps, while the Philippines called for harsher international action.
Maritime experts note the Houthis are now using sea drones packed with explosives—technology that offers longer range and greater precision than previous rocket attacks. “If confirmed, the four deaths on Eternity C would be the first crew fatalities in a Red Sea shipping strike since June 2024,” one senior insurer told Lloyd’s List.
Whether the rebels intend a prolonged offensive or this is a show of force before renewed diplomacy remains unclear. Saree vowed that attacks would continue “until the aggression against Gaza stops and the blockade is lifted.” For shipowners and seafarers, the message is already clear: the Red Sea has turned deadly once more, and the detour around Africa may again become the least risky route.
