Yemen’s Houthis released a video showing 10 members of the Greek ship Eternity C, which was attacked and sunk by the terror group in the Red Sea earlier in July.
The 10 crew members were among the 12 presumed to be missing or held hostage by the Iranian proxy.
In the Monday video, the crew 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.”
The crew cautioned against operating in the Red Sea or sending ships to Israel
“What is your message to companies that sail their ships to Israel?” the voice asked. The crew members urged ships to avoid Israel.
“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.
The video ended with the crew cheering as they spoke to their families, assuring them of their well-being.
“This sinking of the Eternity C, loss of life, and subsequent Houthi detention of 10 crew members is a harsh wake-up call to the industry of the critical importance for consistent due diligence and robust risk assessments, which could have prevented this incident,” Ellie Shafik, head of intelligence at Vanguard Tech, told The Jerusalem Post.
“As long as the conflict in Gaza persists, vessels with affiliations (both perceived and actual) will continue to face elevated risks. Incorporating affiliation checks as a routine part of regional transit planning should no longer be a preferred add-on but a mandatory part of best practice,” she continued. “Seafarers must not bear the burden for institutional failings beyond their control.”