WSJ: Merchant ships battled Houthi assaults for 48 hours before being sunk

For more than 48 hours, two commercial vessels in the Red Sea fought off relentless attacks by Houthi fighters using drones, missiles, and rocket-propelled grenades—before both ships were ultimately sunk. 

At least three crew members were killed and others taken hostage in one of the deadliest Houthi assaults on maritime traffic in months. Despite urgent pleas for help, no US or allied warships were present to intervene, Caliber.Az reports, citing the news details provided by the Wall Street Journal.

The vessels—Magic Seas and Eternity C—were targeted in coordinated attacks by the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group, which has waged a campaign to disrupt international shipping in response to the war in Gaza. The recent incidents mark the Houthis’ first successful sinking of commercial ships since November.

An officer at Cosmoship Management, operator of the Eternity C, said he made repeated calls for help during the attack, reaching out to both the British navy and a European naval task force. “He said he was told there were no ships in the area.”

The sustained assaults came two months after US President Donald Trump claimed to have brokered a cease-fire with the Houthis, which he said would halt attacks on commercial shipping. Despite the latest violence, US officials say that the truce still stands.

“As long as the Houthis aren’t shooting at American ships, the US considers the cease-fire still in place,” a senior US official said. A Defence Department spokeswoman added that the US has not changed its “force posture” in response to the recent attacks.

According to Christopher Long, a former British naval officer now head of intelligence at maritime security firm Neptune P2P, shipping companies are increasingly vulnerable in the southern Red Sea. 

“As we speak today, you are on your own,” he said.

The first assault began midday on July 6, when the Liberian-flagged Magic Seas—a vessel loaded with fertilizer and steel—was attacked while transiting near Yemen en route to Türkiye. According to a report from the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), the ship’s security officer issued an emergency alert: it was under siege.

Houthi fighters boarded the Magic Seas, rigged it with explosives, and sank it—a scene captured in a video later verified by Storyful, a media company owned by News Corp.

Mahdi al-Mashat, chairman of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, later said the group would keep attacking ships connected to Israel. 

“The group would continue to attack ships linked to Israel until the war in Gaza ends and limits on humanitarian supplies are lifted,” he stated. 

The Magic Seas and Eternity C were both Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged vessels. Shipping data from Windward and Kpler show that Magic Seas visited Israel in December 2023, and another ship operated by Cosmoship Management docked in Haifa in June 2024.

The Eternity C was attacked just under five miles from where the Magic Seas was sunk, in a similar fashion, according to the JMIC report. Despite their prolonged resistance, both ships were ultimately overwhelmed.

“If the Houthis are now going to be targeting ships with a once-removed link to Israel, this could affect a sizable portion of the global fleet,” said Ami Daniel, CEO of Windward. “This further bifurcates the world shipping system.”

By Sabina Mammadli