Red Sea (South24 Center)

Yemen's Houthi group launched a deadly attack on a commercial cargo ship in the Red Sea on Monday evening (July 7), killing two crew members and injuring two others.

Maritime reports confirmed the targeted vessel, named ‘Eternity C’, is Liberian-flagged and Greek-owned. It was sailing off the coast of Yemen's Hodeidah governorate when it came under a complex attack involving armed speedboats, rocket-propelled grenades, and machine-gun fire.

Vessel Characteristics for Ship ETERNITY C (Credit: Marine Traffic website)

The Liberian Maritime Authority stated in a release that the attack killed two crew members, injured two others, and left two missing. The ship sustained severe damage, rendering it unable to continue sailing, with visible listing and water ingress.

This assault follows an attack less than 24 hours earlier on the ‘Magic Seas’ cargo ship, which caused a major fire onboard and forced the evacuation of its crew.

The Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attack, and stated that the ship had completely sunk. They justified the strike by accusing the vessel of violating their ban on entering Israeli ports.

The assault on the ‘Eternity C’ marks their deadliest attack on a commercial ship since March 2024, when the Houthis had fired a missile at the ‘MV True Confidence’ off Aden, killing three sailors.

It is also the second attack since November 2024, when the group suddenly halted its campaign against commercial shipping. With the resumption of attacks this month, concerns are growing over the potential disruptions to global trade and economic stability.

The renewed strikes on commercial vessels also puts a question mark on the fate of the agreement arrived at between the US and the Houthis, in May this year, in the aftermath of sustained US air strikes on Houthi targets and senior leaders in Yemen, as part of Operation Rough Rider announced by President Donald Trump.