3 killed in Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea

Mohammed Hatem and Erik Olsson, Bloomberg News on Jul 9, 2025

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Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea killed three crew members, sank one vessel, and left a second without propulsion in signs the Tehran-backed group is once again escalating assaults in the vital trade route.

The attacks resulted in the “tragic loss of three mariners, with many others injured and the complete loss of the MV Magic Seas and its cargo,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement. The U.S. “will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping,” she added.

Liberian-flagged MV Eternity C “has sustained significant damage and has lost all propulsion,” the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, a liaison between the U.K. Navy and commercial shipping, said on Tuesday. The Greek-owned vessel had sustained hours of attacks, including by propelled grenades and an approach by multiple boats, the group said.

Earlier, a Liberian delegation had confirmed some deaths during a meeting of the International Maritime Organization. The Associated Press also reported that three mariners had been killed, citing the European Union naval force.

The return of attacks, especially given their severity, could once again deter more owners and crews against going through the Red Sea, an unavoidable area when using Egypt’s Suez Canal to cut between Asia and Europe, and boost freight rates and insurance costs.

The assaults — coming just a few weeks after Israel’s military confrontation with Iran but with the Gaza war still raging — will add to the anxieties of crews being asked to sail through the waterway. If the attacks worsen, the violence could boost oil prices as it snarls supply chains.

The Eternity C, which saw the three fatalities, was a bulk carrier carrying grains to Somalia for the World Food Programme, and was attacked after completing the trip. The Houthis have not explicitly claimed responsibility.

The incident comes on the heels of a Sunday attack on Magic Seas, another Liberian-flagged vessel, which was targeted with missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, the UKMTO said. The Yemen-based Houthis, in a televised statement, claimed responsibility for the assault on that vessel, an Ultramax owned by Greece’s Stem Shipping.

The Magic Seas was sinking as of 4:49 pm in Greece, according to Diaplous Group officials citing information from nearby ships. Twenty-two individuals on board were rescued, the United Arab Emirates said.

The Houthis released a video late Tuesday purporting to show that the vessel had sunk.

The owner of Magic Seas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“These incidents highlight the Houthis’ disregard for human life, as they continue to exploit seafarers as pawns in their strategic conflicts,” said Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at BIMCO, the world’s largest direct-membership trade group for the shipping industry.

The Houthis began attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea in 2023 after Israel launched a campaign against Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with the proxy battle disrupting global shipping routes and causing freight rates to rise because vessels had to avoid the Suez Canal. Scores of ships were hit or forced to reroute, and at least four sailors were killed, including three on a single vessel early last year, the U.S. military said.

After an intense U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign on Houthi targets in Yemen earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with the group. But the Houthis threatened to return to targeting vessels in the Red Sea following the U.S.’ decision to join an offensive by Israel on Iran’s nuclear sites.

The attack on the Eternity C happened about about 51 nautical miles west of Yemen’s Hodeida, not far from where the Magic Seas was also struck. The Houthis said the Magic Seas was targeted because it had called on Israeli ports in the past.

“The reality is that this ship has called in Israel a couple of years ago, but so did so many others,” Stem Shipping Chief Executive Officer Michael Bodouroglou said in an interview.

Stem Shipping stopped sailing through the route after the Houthis attacked the Sounion, a Greek-operated oil tanker, in August last year, said Bodouroglou. The company only restarted after the U.S. announced the truce.

The Israel Defense Forces carried out airstrikes on Hodeida, Ras Issa and Al-Salif ports on the Red Sea and a power plant in Hodeida on Sunday, according to a post on its X account, following the attack on the Magic Seas.

Israel also hit the Galaxy Leader, a ship captured by the Houthis in November 2023, saying they used it to “track international vessels for terror operations.”

Larsen of BIMCO said the attacks could boost ship-insurance rates even if they’re less likely to affect shipping patterns.

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—With assistance from Alaric Nightingale, Paul Wallace, Devika Krishna Kumar, Sherif Tarek, Verity Ratcliffe, Catherine Cartier and Weilun Soon.