Maritime security teams from Greece’s Diaplous and Britain’s Ambrey began a high-risk operation on Wednesday to evacuate the 22-strong crew from the Greek-owned Eternity C ship after a Houthi drone-and-speed-boat assault off Yemen on Monday killed four sailors and wounded two according to officials.

Teams from Diaplous and Ambrey reached the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier at first light on Wednesday, finding several seafarers in the water wearing life-jackets, according to an official involved in the mission. Lifeboats were destroyed in the attack, leaving the crew unable to abandon the ship safely.

Eternity C was hit by sea-borne drones and rocket-propelled grenades fired from manned speed boats, according to maritime-security sources. The assault — the second in the Red Sea that day after months of relative calm — left four Filipino crew members dead and two others injured. The remaining 16 Filipinos and a Russian national are awaiting evacuation from the vessel.

“It is an operation to rescue the crew, some of whom are injured and need assistance, and to collect the bodies of the seafarers who lost their lives,” a Diaplous official said. “We aim at a peaceful operation,” the official added.

Greek government officials have opened talks with Saudi Arabia, a key regional player, on salvaging the stricken vessel, sources in Athens said.

The deaths are the first involving commercial shipping in the Red Sea since June 2024.

Iran-aligned Houthi forces have carried out more than a 100 attacks on merchant ships since November 2023, slashing Red Sea traffic by nearly half, according to industry group BIMCO.

The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

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