Houthis announce the detention of 10 crew members of a ship they sank off the coast of Yemen.
Arabian Sea Newspaper - Follow-ups
Arabian Sea - Yemen - Follow-ups: The Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen said on Monday that they had rescued 10 sailors from the "Eternity Sea" cargo ship, which they attacked and sank in the Red Sea this month. The "Eternity Sea," which flies the flag of Liberia and is operated by a Greek company, is the second ship to sink off Yemen this month after repeated attacks by Houthi militants with drones and rockets. Another ship operated by a Greek company, the "Magic Sea," sank days earlier. The Philippine government confirmed on Tuesday that nine of the rescued sailors were Filipinos. Migrant Workers Affairs Secretary Hans Cacdac said the sailors were in "good physical condition" based on accounts from their families, and that the government was working to ensure their release and safe return. The strikes targeting the two ships represented a return to Houthi attacks on shipping, after they targeted more than 100 ships between November 2023 and December 2024 in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians in the war in Gaza. The crew of the "Eternity Sea" and three armed guards were forced to abandon the ship following the attacks. A privately led mission rescued ten people, while five others are feared to have died as a result of the attacks. Maritime security sources told Reuters that another 10 people are believed to be held by the Houthis. On Monday, the Houthi group published a six-minute video showing images of the ten sailors, with some of them communicating with their families. They also presented testimonies stating that the crew members were unaware of the naval ban imposed by the Houthis on ships sailing to Israeli ports. They said the ship was heading to the Israeli port of Eilat to load fertilizers. Reuters was unable to independently verify the images. In what they called the fourth phase of their military operations, the Houthis said on Sunday that they would target any ships belonging to companies dealing with Israeli ports, regardless of their nationalities. Following the recent attacks, Greece said it would send a rescue ship to the Red Sea to assist in maritime incidents and protect sailors and global navigation. Source: Reuters
