Houthi publish interviews with 'rescued' Eternity C seafarers

Houthi publish interviews with 'rescued' Eternity C seafarers
Gary Howard July 28, 2025 https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/security/houthi-publish-interviews-wit...

Yemeni rebel group claim 11 seafarers were rescued in the aftermath of Houthi attack on Greek bulk carrier.

The Houthi claim its forces "rescued" 11 missing seafarers from Eternity C after the rebel group attacked the bulker in the Red Sea. Photographs of 10 rescued seafarers list one security guard, four crew members, a third officer, assistant engineer, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and the ship’s cook. It is not immediately clear whether there is an 11th unpictured seafarer, or if the body of a crew member found dead on the ship before it sank is counted among the 11.

Eternity C crew members held hostage by Houthi rebels in Yemen. From https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1orqsrwgl
The freedom of the seafarers remains unclear, but the Houthi published a video claiming to show 10 of the crew in which they seem in good spirits. When news broke in the immediate aftermath of the attack that the Houthi had plucked some of the crew from the water, some framed it as kidnapping. A group message from nine of the crew members shows one with bandages to his head and right arm. The tenth seafarer, seen responding to questions in other clips, is laying in what appears to be a hospital bed.

The 6-minute video claims to show a short piece of footage of the rescue of crew from the water after Eternity C was attacked, Houthi interviews with the seafarers, and seafarers calling home on a mobile phone. The Israeli press has called the video a "propaganda clip".

The video opens with footage of a group of men in lifejackets apparently being rescued from the sea in the dark, the scene illuminated with bright flashlights. A bandage is seen being wrapped around a person’s arm, and another shot shows a man drinking water from a large bottle. A voiceover by a seafarer says the Yemen Navy saved them when they were floating in the sea, and that they have given the seafarers good shelter, kept them safe, and given them everything they need.

It is unclear whether the statements were given freely or under actual or perceived duress. Last year, the Houthi held the crew of hijacked car carrier Galaxy Leader for 14 months and used the crew in various PR stunts. The latest video includes messages from the crew echoing Houthi talking points including warning shipping companies and other seafarers not to deal with Israel.

In the video interviews with the Eternity C crew, a Houthi interviewer asks whether the crew knew the ship would sail to Israel, and whether the crew heard warnings issued to the ship to stop.

The crew have mixed responses about when they first heard the ship would sail to Israel, but mention a request for additional pay due to entering the High Risk Area. It is claimed the Jeddah was used as a false destination on the way to the Middle East from Somalia. One seafarer claims it was mentioned that the ship’s communications and satellites would need to be switched off on the way to Israel.

Various interviewees claim that the master did not alert the crew that warnings had been received from the Yemeni Navy ahead of the attack, with one claiming that the captain lowered the volume of the radio.

The video ends with seafarers calling loved ones by phone and video call. In one call, apparently between a seafarer and his mother, the woman on the phone asks “Where are you? We heard that you are dead.”

The Houthi claim their forces carried out search and rescue operations for two days after Eternity C sank. A press release issued alongside the video reiterates that Eternity C was targeted due to it and other vessels owned by the same company calling at Israeli ports.

The Houthi claim that Cosmo Shipmanagement’s HSL Nike moved between Turkish and Egyptian ports to Israel on four trips during March, April, June, and July 2025, and another vessel Faith has conducted two trips between Turkish and Egyptian ports to Israel in recent months.

The video was released on the same day the Houthi warned that it would target any vessels owned and operated by companies calling at Israeli ports.