Two crew killed in attack on cargo ship in Red Sea

Two crew members of a Liberian-flagged cargo ship have been killed in an attack in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, Liberia says.

A Liberian representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) said the Eternity C was "attacked horribly... causing the death of two seafarers".

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said a vessel had "sustained significant damage and lost all propulsion" after being hit by rocket-propelled grenades fired from small boats.

Maritime security sources told Reuters news agency that the Eternity C was now adrift and listing, and that the 22-strong crew was made up of 21 Filipinos and one Russian.

There was no immediate claim by any group, but it came a day after Yemen's Houthi movement said it had launched missiles and sea drones at another Liberian-flagged cargo ship, Magic Seas, and forced the crew to abandon it.

The US embassy in Yemen accused the Houthis of targeting the Eternity C, describing it as the Iran-backed group's "most violent attack to date" on a commercial vessel in the region.

"The Houthis are once again showing blatant disregard for human life, undermining freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, defying [UN Security Council] demands, and threatening regional stability," a statement said.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said: "The resumption of deplorable attacks in the Red Sea constitutes a renewed violation of international law and freedom of navigation."

"Innocent seafarers and local populations are the main victims of these attacks and the pollution they cause. Constructive dialogue is the only solution."

The UKMTO said on Tuesday morning that it had received reports from a third party of a merchant vessel being attacked with rocket propelled grenades from small craft since Monday, about 51 nautical miles (94 km) west of the Houthi-held port of Hudaydah.

Without identifying the ship as the Eternity C, the agency cited the company security officer as saying that it had "sustained significant damage and has lost propulsion".

"The vessel is surrounded by small craft and is under continuous attack," it added.

The two deaths on the Eternity C are the first involving Red Sea shipping since June 2024.

They also raise to six the total number of crew members killed in attacks in the region since November 2023, when the Houthis began targeting merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They have so far sunk two vessels and seized a third.

The Houthis have said they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and have claimed - often falsely - that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK.

They have controlled much of north-western Yemen since 2014, when they ousted the internationally-recognised government from the capital, Sanaa, and sparked a civil war.

In May, the Houthis agreed a ceasefire deal with the US following seven weeks of intensified US strikes on Yemen in response to the attacks on international shipping.

However, they said the agreement did not include an end to attacks on Israel, which has conducted multiple rounds of retaliatory strikes on Yemen.

The Houthis said on Monday that they attacked the Magic Seas the previous day because it "belongs to a company that violated the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine".

The UKMTO said the crew were safe after being rescued by a passing merchant vessel.