Yemen's Houthis released footage on Wednesday of what they claim is the sinking of the Greek-operated, Liberia-flagged vessel called Eternity C in the Red Sea.
The damaged ship, which had 21 Filipino crew members, is shown partially submerged before sinking, leaving behind a whirlpool an oil slick.
Reuters independently verified the ship to be the “Eternity C” by matching details such as on-board cranes, hull paint, bridge structure and white lightning bolt sign to details seen in file imagery of the vessel. The location is not verified, however, the vessel’s last reported location through its Automatic Identification System was in the Red Sea, southwest of Hodeidah, Yemen. The date of the attack on the “Eternity C” was verified through corroborating Reuters reports.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said Wednesday that five Filipino seafarers were rescued.
Seventeen other seafarers were unaccounted for, and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said it was verifying the number of casualties.
"Among the 17 were the reported fatalities which we will confirm once we talk to the 5 [rescued] seafarers," Cacdac said.
"May mga reports na apat, may reports na tatlo. We will still have to confirm and the best source at this stage would be the seafarers themselves," he added.
Eternity C is the second ship that the Iran-aligned group has attacked this week after months of calm.
The attacks revive a campaign by the Iran-aligned fighters, who had attacked more than 100 ships from November 2023 to December 2024 in what they said was solidarity with the Palestinians, before a lull in their campaign earlier this year.
— With a report from Izzy Lee,ABS-CBN News; Production by Inaki Malvido, Leila Dougan