Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday admitted attacking and sinking the cargo ship Eternity C in the Red Sea, their second such sinking in recent days.
The Liberian-flagged vessel was badly damaged in an attack that started on Monday and continued into Tuesday.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the attack was carried out with an unmanned explosive boat and six cruise and ballistic missiles.
“The operation resulted in the complete sinking of the ship,” Mr Saree said.
At least three members of the crew were killed in the attack, an EU mission and a delegation from Liberia told a meeting of the UN's shipping agency, the International Maritime Organisation, on Tuesday.
Two security sources told Reuters on Wednesday that the vessel was attacked again on Tuesday night, forcing the crew to jump into the water.
The EU naval force in the Red Sea said on Wednesday that six crew members were rescued, with a search continuing for the remaining crew.
“Following the attack on the merchant vessel Eternity C in the southern Red Sea, currently six castaway crew members have been recovered from the sea,” Operation Aspides, the European Union's Naval Force, announced on X.
The crew is made up of 21 Filipinos and one Russian. Its four armed guards include one Greek national.
On Sunday, the Iranian-backed Houthis attacked, and subsequently sank, the bulk carrier Magic Seas in the Red Sea.
The Houthis have been attacking Israel and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023. However, the latest incidents are rare assaults in the strategic waters near Yemen, two months after the US announced a truce with the rebel group that aimed to halt attacks on ships in the region.
Before the ceasefire, the US carried out heavy strikes on Yemen in response to the attacks on shipping lanes.
“The attack on the Magic Seas is not a shift in the position of the Houthis. Before the ceasefire announced by the US President in May, and even after it, the position remained that targeting Israel and ships dealing with it will continue,” a Yemeni source in Sanaa told The National.
“Every Israeli aggression against the Palestinian and Yemeni people will be met with direct strikes on Israel by the Houthis. This is the decision now, no matter the consequences.”
In response, Israel has been carrying out strikes on Yemen. The Yemeni port city of Hodeidah was struck on Sunday night, along with the ports of Ras Isa and Salif and the Ras Al Khatib power station, the Houthi-run Al Masirah television channel reported.
The Israeli military said it “struck and destroyed terror infrastructure belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime”.
