Video footage has been posted online apparently showing the hijacking and sinking of merchant vessel Magic Seas in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels.
A clip posted on the website of Yemeni armed forces loyal to the Houthi-led Supreme Political Council (SPC) depicts masked raiders attacking and then boarding the Magic Seas, a bulker sailing under the Liberian flag.
The footage, seemingly shot from a drone, then shows the apparently abandoned ship being sunk via the use of explosive charges.
The video is dated to Sunday, July 6 and captioned: “Scenes of the targeting and sinking of the ship ‘Magic Seas’ in the Red Sea in a special operation by the Yemeni Armed Forces.”
According to reports the bulker’s crew of 22 escaped unharmed, abandoning ship and being rescued by another passing merchant vessel.
The assault on the bulkers appears to mark the start of a renewed wave of attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea after a hiatus in recent months.
There have since been reports of an attack on another Liberian-flagged bulker, the Eternity C, the following day, in which three sailors were reportedly killed.
In the wake of the attacks Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Arsenio Dominguez told the IMO Council in London: “After several months of calm, the resumption of deplorable attacks in the Red Sea constitutes a renewed violation of international law and freedom of navigation.”
He added: “Innocent seafarers and local populations are the main victims of these attacks and the pollution they cause.”
- You can read more details on the IMO website