Houthis Attack Second Ship in the Red Sea

Incident Details

UKMTO has released warning 027-25 and two subsequent updates regarding an attack on the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier ETERNITY C. The ship was heading to Jeddah, KSA, when it was approached by two small craft that opened fire with multiple rocket-propelled grenades. The incident is ongoing, and reports state the crew is preparing to abandon ship.

Fig1. Location of Incident – 50nm southeast of Hodeida, Yemen.

Comment. Reports suggest that three crew members have been killed and at least two more were seriously injured during the attack. The crew is predominantly Filipino, with a three-man Indian Armed Security Team embarked. The ship is reported to have lost propulsion and is listing 15 degrees to starboard; however, VHF communications have been restored. This is the second incident in the same area (within 4nm) in as many days and signals a return of Houthi activity against commercial ships in the Red Sea.

Assessment. It is likely ETERNITY C was targeted due to other ships in the vessels’ Greek operating company having recently operated in Israeli ports. This is consistent with warnings given in May 2025 by the Houthis’ Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC), which added Haifa specifically to the groups sanctioned list. This followed a warning in May 2024, which prohibited ships whose owners/operators have vessels visiting Israeli ports from transiting the Red Sea. This incident emphasises the need for ship operators to conduct a thorough background risk assessment before transiting the area. Ships are reminded to remain vigilant when operating in the area and to comply with the guidance given in the BMP-Maritime Security bmp-ms_hi-res_s.pdf and consider the use of an Armed Security Team to mitigate some of the threats in the area.  Contact Neptune P2P Group, if you require any further assistance.