The Houthi militia in Yemen shared a video online this week showing 11 mariners taken hostage by the group earlier this month.
The men said they were safe and thanked the Houthis for taking care of them, though it was not clear how much duress they were under when the video was filmed.
The video, which was heavily edited, was the first confirmation of the number of hostages and of some of their identities. It was not clear when it was filmed.
The video included footage of what Houthi officials have described as the mariners being “rescued” from the water after the militia attacked and sank their cargo ship, the Eternity C, on July 7, while it was sailing through the Red Sea.
At least two mariners were killed in the attack, and two more are presumed dead.
The Houthis said their fighters had targeted the ship because it was heading to an Israeli port. The Yemeni militia has been launching missiles and drones at vessels sailing through the Red Sea since late 2023, saying this was a campaign to pressure Israel and its international allies to end the war in Gaza and allow more aid to enter the Palestinian enclave.
“For other ships, please do not go to Israel because it is very dangerous and many Palestinian people are suffering,” a crew member identified as Rafael Gonzales said in the video.
The video ended with nine of the men declaring in unison, “We are sorry Palestinians.”
Individual crew members were shown against a blue curtain, answering questions from a man who was not visible and whose voice was altered. Several of them said they had been told that their ship was going to an Israeli port.
The New York Times was not able to independently confirm the ship’s destination.
One of the men, identified in the video as Aleksei Galaktionov, a Russian mariner, was filmed speaking from what appeared to be a hospital bed.
“If you want to send a vessel to a high-risk area, please inform the crew and ask the crew if they want to go to this high-risk area,” he said.
Another scene in the video appeared to show some of the men calling family members.
Cosmoship, the Greek company that owned the Eternity C, said on Tuesday that it was relieved to see that some of the crew members “are alive and appear to be receiving care.”
“We continue to work through every available channel to support their continued care and to facilitate their safe and swift return home to their families,” the company said in a statement. “We are also staying closely in touch with the families of these seafarers, and are offering every form of support during this difficult time.”
The company added that sympathies “are with the families of the two crew members who have been confirmed dead and two others who are now sadly feared dead.”
The attack on the Eternity C and the seizure of the crew members represented a major escalation in the attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
The episode renewed concerns that a vital trade route was no longer safe, despite a truce that President Trump announced with the Houthis in May, saying that freedom of navigation in the Red Sea would be restored. The parameters of the truce were unclear, and the Houthis said they would continue attacks targeting Israel.
The Houthis have been pledging to escalate their attacks on ships in recent days, saying that they will now target any vessel belonging to a company that has dealt with Israel, “regardless of its nationality and destination.”
Asked during an interview with the Al Araby broadcast network whether that escalation would mean an end to the truce between the United States and his group, Hizam al-Asad, a Houthi political official, said, “Any country that deals with or supports Israel will be included.”
Houthi officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when they planned to release the men or whether they were placing any conditions on their release.
In 2023, the Houthis seized a ship called the Galaxy Leader and held its crew members hostage for more than a year, releasing them after a temporary cease-fire was reached between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
Ismaeel Naar contributed reporting from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Vivian Nereim is the lead reporter for The Times covering the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. She is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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