Crew abandons cargo ship in Red Sea after drone, grenade attack

UK maritime agency says the Magic Seas is taking on water after being targeted with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades.

Crew members onboard a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned ship that was set ablaze in an attack in the Red Sea have abandoned the vessel and were rescued, according to a British maritime agency.

The attack, which took place some 94km (51 nautical miles) southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah on Sunday, was the first such incident in the vital shipping corridor since April.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the bulk carrier Magic Seas was first “engaged by multiple small vessels” that “opened fire with small arms and self-propelled grenades”.

The attack set the ship ablaze and caused it to take on water, it said.

All of the crew abandoned the ship and were rescued by a passing merchant vessel, UKMTO said, adding that “all crew are well and safe”.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Ambrey, a private British maritime security firm, said in a separate advisory that the ship was attacked by four unmanned surface vehicles [USVs].

The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, began targeting vessels in the Red Sea shortly after Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, in a campaign the rebel group said was in defence of the Palestinians living in the besieged enclave.

Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis launched more than 100 attacks targeting commercial vessels, disrupting global shipping and forcing firms to reroute. During that period, the group also sunk two ships, seized another and killed at least four seafarers.

The Houthis paused the attacks in January, following the brief ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but hostilities escalated again in mid-March when the United States launched a broad assault against the group.

The two sides agreed on a ceasefire in May, and the Houthis have not attacked a vessel since then, though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel.

On Sunday, the group claimed a missile launch at Israel, which the country’s military said it intercepted. And shortly before midnight on Sunday, the Israeli military issued an evacuation threat for three Houthi-held ports and said air strikes would begin shortly in Hodeidah, Ras Isa and as-Salif, along with the Ras al-Khatib power station.