The crew of the Greek-operated cargo ship Eternity C, which sank in the Red Sea in July after being attacked by Yemen's Houthis, have been released, an official with the ship's operator and a maritime security source told Reuters on Wednesday.
The crew of the Liberia-flagged Eternity C abandoned the ship before it sank following repeated strikes by the Iran-aligned militants with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades.
Rescuers pulled crew members alive from the Red Sea, and Houthis later said they were holding a group of the seafarers, including one security guard.
The United States Mission in Yemen had accused the Houthis of kidnapping them and called for their immediate and unconditional safe release.
Nine Filipino seafarers, one Russian, and one Indian national were expected to leave Yemen and arrive in Oman later on Wednesday, the Cosmoship Management official said.
Days before the Eternity C was struck, Houthis had targeted another ship, the Magic Seas. All crew from the Magic Seas were rescued before it sank.
The strikes on the ships had marked a revival of a campaign by the Iran-aligned fighters who attacked more than 100 ships from November 2023 to December 2024 in what they said was solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza war.
Eternity C crew made to film hostages videos, thank Houthis for 'saving' them
Following the crew's initial kidnapping, the Houthis released a video showing 10 members who detailed how the Houthi forces “saved” them while they were floating and said that the terror group has been giving them “good shelter, giving us what we need, and keeping us safe.”
The crew confirmed that they knew they were heading for Israel and that they had requested to receive a bonus for traveling to a “high-risk area.”
“Did you hear any call or warning from anyone to the ship to stop?” a distorted voice behind the camera asked. A member of the crew, identified as Rafael Gonzalez, responded yes, he had heard the ship’s captain “ignore the call of Yemen’s Navy.”
“Please do not go to Israel; it is very dangerous, and many Palestinian people are suffering,” Gonzalez said.“This war must be stopped; if you want to send a vessel to the high-risk area, please inform the crew, and ask the crew if they want to go to this high-risk area,” the ship’s electrical engineer, Alexei Galactonein, said.
“For example, for me, if I had known better, I’d have gone home before.”
“It is dangerous to pass through the Red Sea,” the ship’s assistant engineer, Julimo Tabiros, said. “I want to say sorry for our ship going to Israel.”
“For the Palestinian people who suffered injury, children who suffered injury, we are very sorry for them,” Gonzalez added.