Search ends for those missing after Yemen’s Houthi rebels sink ship in Red Sea

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The search for those missing after Yemen’s Houthi rebels sank a ship in the Red Sea has ended as at least four people are presumed dead and 11 others remain unaccounted for, the private security firms involved said Monday.

The announcement came as satellite photos show long, trailing oil slicks from where the bulk carrier Eternity C sank, as well as another where the sinking of the bulk carrier Magic Seas by the Iranian-backed Houthis took place.

Both ships were attacked over a week ago by the rebels as part of their campaign targeting vessels over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that’s upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which $1 trillion of goods usually passes a year.

Search called off as mariners missing

The private security firms Ambrey and Diaplous Group ran the search for those missing from the Eternity C, which had a three-man security team aboard but requested no escort from either the U.S. Navy or a European Union force in the region. The ship came under attack July 7 and faced hours of Houthi assaults by small arms and bomb-carrying drones before ultimately sinking in the Red Sea.

The initial attack on the Eternity C came a day after the attack on the Magic Seas. Both ships were Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned vessels.

Ten people were recovered alive from the attack, including eight Filipino crew members and a Greek and Indian from the vessel’s security team, the EU’s Operation Aspides said. At least four are presumed to have been killed in the attack, leaving 11 others missing, the EU mission has said.

The Houthis claimed to have taken some mariners after the attack, but have offered no evidence of that. The U.S. Embassy in Yemen said it believed the rebels had “kidnapped” some of the crew.

“The decision to end the search has been taken by the vessel’s Owner reluctantly but it believes that, in all the circumstances, the priority must now be to get the 10 souls safely recovered alive ashore and to provide them with the urgent medical support they need at this difficult time,” a statement by the security firms said. “The thoughts of all those involved in the rescue operation are with the families of those who remain missing.”

Oil slicks seen after two vessels sank

The attacks on the vessels also raised concerns about damage to the environment in the Red Sea, home to corals and wildlife that draws divers, tourists and scientists. Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed Monday by The Associated Press show large, spreading oil slicks in the southern Red Sea where the vessels sank.

Wim Zwijnenburg, an analyst with the Dutch peace organization PAX, estimated the length of the slick from the Eternity C at some 80 kilometers (50 miles) and from the Magic Seas at some 65 kilometers (40 miles). He warned it could threatened wildlife reserves in nearby Eritrea in Africa and elsewhere.

The oil comes from the ship’s tanks and had been used for their own propulsion. Other shipping disasters have seen much of the slicks evaporate on their own, though they cause damage to the environment, too.

Houthis have attacked shipping since 2023

From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones. In their campaign so far, the Houthis have sank four vessels and killed at least eight mariners.

The Houthis stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war. They later became the target of an intense weekslong campaign of airstrikes ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump before he declared a ceasefire had been reached with the rebels.

The Houthis’ new attacks come as a new possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war remains in the balance. Meanwhile, the future of talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s battered nuclear program is in question after Israel launched a 12-day war against the Islamic Republic that saw the Americans bomb three Iranian atomic sites.