Houthi Rebels Attack Greek Cargo Ship in Red Sea

The crew of a Greek-owned cargo ship, the Magic Seas, abandoned their vessel in the Red Sea after it was attacked and began to take on water. The incident marks the first significant assault in the crucial trade corridor following a months-long campaign by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The attack involved a series of assaults, including small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades, and bomb-carrying drone boats, which struck the ship after it was targeted by initial attacks. The Houthi rebels, who have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region, have not officially claimed responsibility for the attack, though suspicion immediately fell on them. The rebels' media reported on the attack but did not acknowledge it, a common practice as it can take them hours or even days to confirm an assault.

The attack on the Magic Seas comes at a delicate time in the Middle East, with a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hanging in the balance and Iran considering whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program. The incident could draw in U.S. and Western forces to the area, particularly after President Donald Trump targeted the rebels in a major airstrike campaign. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center first reported that an armed security team on the unidentified vessel had returned fire against an initial attack and that the “situation is ongoing.” It described the attack as happening some 100 kilometers southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the country’s Houthi rebels. The center later confirmed that the ship was on fire after being “struck by unknown projectiles.”

Ambrey, a private maritime security firm, issued an alert saying that a merchant ship had been “attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea.” Ambrey later reported that the ship had also been attacked by bomb-carrying drone boats, which could mark a major escalation. It said two drone boats struck the ship, while another two had been destroyed by the armed guards on board. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center confirmed that the ship was taking on water and its crew had abandoned the vessel. The U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet referred questions to the military’s Central Command, which said it was aware of the incident without elaborating.

Moammar al-Eryani, the information minister for Yemen’s exiled government opposing the Houthis, identified the vessel attacked as the Magic Seas and blamed the rebels for the attack. The ship had been broadcasting that it had an armed security team on board in the vicinity of the attack and had been heading north. Al-Eryani wrote on the social platform X that the attack proves the Houthis are merely a front for an Iranian scheme using Yemen as a platform to undermine regional and global stability. The Magic Seas’ owners did not respond to a request for comment.

The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership has described as an effort to end Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The group’s al-Masirah satellite news channel acknowledged the attack occurred, but offered no other comment on it as it aired a speech by its secretive leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi. Ambrey said the vessel targeted met “the established Houthi target profile,” without elaborating. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually.

The Houthis paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the U.S. launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis haven’t attacked a vessel, though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel. On Sunday, the group claimed launching a missile at Israel which the Israeli military said it intercepted. Shipping through the Red Sea, while still lower than normal, has increased in recent weeks. Meanwhile, a wider, decadelong war in Yemen between the Houthis and the country’s exiled government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, remains in a stalemate. The Yemeni Coast Guard, which is loyal to the exiled government, has also been involved in past incidents. Pirates from Somalia have operated in the region, though typically they’ve sought to capture vessels either to rob or ransom their crews. But neither the Yemeni Coast Guard nor the pirates have been known to use drone boats in their attacks.