Search ends for missing crew after Yemen’s Houthi rebels sink ship in Red Sea

The hunt for those missing aft Yemen’s Houthi rebels sank a vessel successful the Red Sea has ended arsenic astatine slightest 4 radical are presumed dormant and 11 others stay unaccounted for, the backstage information firms progressive said Monday (July 14, 2025).

The announcement came arsenic outer photos amusement long, trailing lipid slicks from wherever the bulk bearer Eternity C sank, arsenic good arsenic different wherever the sinking of the bulk bearer Magic Seas by the Iranian-backed Houthis took place.

Both ships were attacked implicit a week agone by the rebels arsenic portion of their run targeting vessels implicit the Israel-Hamas warfare successful the Gaza Strip that’s upended shipping successful the Red Sea, done which $1 trillion of goods usually passes a year.

Also Read | Yemen’s Houthi rebels onslaught different vessel successful the Red Sea, sidesplitting 3

Private information firms Ambrey and Diaplous Group ran the hunt for those missing from the Eternity C, which had a three-man information squad aboard but requested nary escort from either the U.S. Navy oregon a European Union unit successful the region. The vessel came nether onslaught July 7 and faced hours of Houthi assaults by tiny arms and bomb-carrying drones earlier yet sinking successful the Red Sea.

The archetypal onslaught connected the Eternity C came a time aft the onslaught connected the Magic Seas. Both ships were Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned vessels.

Ten radical were recovered live from the attack, including 8 Filipino unit members and a Greek and Indian from the vessel’s information team, the EU’s Operation Aspides said. At slightest 4 are presumed to person been killed successful the attack, leaving 11 others missing, the EU ngo has said.

The Houthis claimed to person taken immoderate mariners aft the onslaught but person offered nary grounds of that. The U.S. Embassy successful Yemen said it believed the rebels had “kidnapped” immoderate of the crew.

“The determination to extremity the hunt has been taken by the vessel’s Owner reluctantly but it believes that, successful each the circumstances, the precedence indispensable present beryllium to get the 10 souls safely recovered live ashore and to supply them with the urgent aesculapian enactment they request astatine this hard time,” a connection by the information firms said. “The thoughts of each those progressive successful the rescue cognition are with the families of those who stay missing.”

The attacks connected the vessels besides raised concerns astir harm to the situation successful the Red Sea, location to corals and wildlife that draws divers, tourists and scientists. Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analysed Monday (July 14, 2025) by The Associated Press amusement large, spreading lipid slicks successful the confederate Red Sea wherever the vessels sank.

Wim Zwijnenburg, an expert with the Dutch bid enactment PAX, estimated the magnitude of the slick from the Eternity C astatine immoderate 80 km and from the Magic Seas astatine immoderate 65 km. He warned it could threatened wildlife reserves successful adjacent Eritrea successful Africa and elsewhere.

The lipid comes from the ship’s tanks and had been utilized for their ain propulsion. Other shipping disasters person seen overmuch of the slicks evaporate connected their own, though they origin harm to the environment, too.

From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted much than 100 ships with missiles and drones. In their run truthful far, the Houthis person sank 4 vessels and killed astatine slightest 8 mariners.

The Houthis stopped their attacks during a little ceasefire successful the war. They aboriginal became the people of an aggravated weekslong run of airstrikes ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier helium declared a ceasefire had been reached with the rebels.

The Houthis’ caller attacks travel arsenic a caller imaginable ceasefire successful the Israel-Hamas warfare remains successful the balance. Meanwhile, the aboriginal of talks betwixt the U.S. and Iran implicit Tehran’s battered atomic programme is successful question aft Israel launched a 12-day warfare against the Islamic Republic that saw the Americans weaponry 3 Iranian atomic sites.