Second vessel sinks in Red Sea after apparent Houthi attackpublished at 14:10 British Summer Time 9 July
14:10 BST 9 July
Shruti Menon and Richard Irvine-Brown
BBC Verify
Image source, Marine Traffic
A Liberian-flagged cargo ship has sunk in the Red Sea after coming under attack on Monday according to Vanguard Tech, a maritime risk company, and shipping data specialist Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
The ship began its final journey from Berbera port on Sunday morning heading north. Its last recorded position, according to the tracking site Marine Traffic, was on Monday near the Yemeni port of Hudeydah, controlled by the Houthi rebel group.
Vanguard says the bulk carrier Eternity C’s stern was submerged before it completely sank. Four crew members died during the attack and five have been rescued from the water. A search and rescue operation for the remaining 16 crew is under way. No-one was onboard the ship before it sank.
The vessel was attacked on four separate occasions between 7 and 8 July by up to eight small boats with rocket-propelled grenades, small weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles, according to Vanguard Tech.
Yemen’s Houthi militia hasn’t yet said it carried out the attack but similar tactics have been used by the group against ships in the Red Sea.
According to Lloyd’s List, the Eternity C was transporting soybeans to the Saudi port of Jeddah and is the second ship to have sunk this week after coming under attack. Yesterday, Yemeni Military Media – a propaganda channel of the Houthis – released a five-minute video and photographs claiming to be of the capture and sinking of the Magic Seas, another Liberian-flagged bulk carrier.
BBC Verify has contacted the ship’s owner, Cosmo Ship Management, and we will post an update when more information becomes available.