Several seafarers have been murdered, more have been grievously injured, and four seafarers may have been kidnapped after an attack by Red Sea terrorists on a dry bulker earlier this week. The ship has been sunk, most likely by the Houthis in a controlled sinking after the attack.
The vessel that came under attack in the later afternoon (local time) of Monday 07 July was the handysize dry bulker Eternity C (IMO 958824; Liberia-flagged, 2012-built, 186 long with a beam of 28 metres, gross tonnage of 22,683 tons, deadweight of 36,830 tonnes).
It appears the vessel was in ballast (i.e. it was empty of cargo) after reportedly having delivered food aid to the sea port of Berbera, in Somalia, for the UN World Food Programme (according to media-reports, sourcing the statement to the ship operator). That ship was reportedly en-route to the seaport at Jeddah, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
A statement from the Houthis, translated into English using the Grok AI system, claims that the ship was targeted with a drone boat and six winged and ballistic missiles, resulting in the complete sinking of the ship. The Houthis claimed that the ship was targeted after the company it is affiliated with, and the ship itself, dealt with an Israeli seaport in violation of the Houthi ban on such dealings.
According to the Joint Maritime Information Centre, the information arm of the 40+ country multinational combined naval force, the owner of Eternity C has other vessels that have called in Israel, with the most recent being to Haifa on the 3rd of June 2025.
Sources vary, and information is constantly changing, but, at the time of writing, at least three to four seafarers have been killed, two have been seriously injured (one reported to have lost his leg), several more may be missing; several have been taken by the Houthis and their fate is unknown. As of a few hours before the time of writing, three seafarers have been rescued from the Red Sea along with a security guard. So far, at least ten people from the Eternity C are thought to have been rescued out of the complement of 22 crew and three guards.
Timeline of the attack on Monday 07 July 2025 (sourced from the UKMTO)
16:34 Universal Time (02:34 am Australian Eastern Time; 7:34pm Al Hudaydah, Yemen time), the UK Maritime Trade Operations organisation, part of the UK navy, receives several reports of an attack roughly in the same area as that on the Magic Seas, approximately 51 nautical miles west of Al Hudaydah, Yemen, near the Hanish Islands to the south of the Red Sea
17:03 – the Company Security Officer reports to the UKMTO that the vessel has been attacked by five rocked propelled grenades and is being approached by multiple small craft
17:33 – damage to the aft portion of the ship has been reported; crew reported to have sustained injuries
17:59 – additional damage reported along with loss of propulsion
18:32 – severe damage to the engine room is reported
8 July
03:22 – the vessel Sea Puma (IMO 9469871) reports that the Eternity C is experiencing a “notable list”
03:50 – Eternity C details by radio the crew injuries to the Sea Puma
07:10 – it is reported that the vessel has sustained significant damage and has lost all propulsion. The vessel is reported to be surrounded by small craft and is under “continuous attack”
9 July
06:45 – search and rescue operations took place over night, five crew members were rescued and searches continue for those remaining
16:00 – ship is reported to have been sunk in the position 1442N 04226E; rescue operations were ongoing
Houthi imagery of the attack and the sinking
Media released by the Houthis feature audio of a heavily-accented male voice claiming to be from Yemeni Naval Forces hailing the vessel Eternity C; a response is received. The first, Houthi, voice says that a boat came to effect a rescue and that there is no danger to the crew, and then asks for a response. The Houthi encourages the crew to abandon the ship and says that there is no danger. It should be noted that this is an heavily-edited release and we cannot be sure that events as depicted happened in the order as presented or that they even related specifically to the attack on, and sinking of, the Eternity C. The video then shows several shore-based missiles being launched. The imagery subsequently shows a ship at sea on the horizon riding high in ballast, and with four cranes. A large explosion occurs aft of the crane nearest the accommodation block, which releases a thick, black, smoke; chanting is heard on the media. Aerial footage then shows a vessel that appears to be leaking oil from the stern and it clearly has fire / explosion / scorch damage to the front of the accommodation block, there are two large holes in the hatch cover nearest that block along with scorch damage, and there is what appears to be a hole and scorch damage to the port-side of the deck, between holds 3 and 4, near the second-crane from the accommodation block. Later in the imager, there appear to be demolition charges that have been placed at the waterline on the starboard side of the ship.
Further imagery circling around the show clearly shows writing stencilled on the prow of the ship reading “Eternity C”; when the imagery changes view to the starboard stern there is a large hole, with jagged edges, in the hull under the accommodation block in what would be the wetted area of the hull if it were not in ballast. The hole is located where the lower part of the load lines would otherwise be. This would presumably indicate the vessel’s engine room has been penetrated. The stern of the vessel is also clearly identified as being the “Eternity C” of Monrovia although the IMO number is not legible.
The imagery then shows a large hole at the waterline with the sea pouring in; the view switches to a view of a vessel, which has the same number of cranes and apparently the same pattern of damage on the deck as the earlier images, severely listing into the water near the stern. The vessel is clearly sinking and further imagery shows the vessel, clearly marked with the title “Eternity C” slipping further and further under the waves, stern first, lifting the prow of the vessel out of the water. The vessel then sinks stern first with the characteristic fountain of water from a hole in the vessel as air escapes the sinking ship. The bow of the ship is lifted clear of the water to stand upright, and the bulbous bow along with the prow are the last of the ship to be seen as it sinks beneath the waves.
