Yemen's Houthis say they have released the crew of the cargo ship Eternity C, five months after their capture in the Red Sea.
The nine Filipino crew members, whose ship was sunk by the Houthis off the coast of Yemen, were released after mediation by Oman, Houthi-run media reported on Wednesday. The Houthis' Saba news agency said a plane was transporting the crew from Sanaa to Muscat.
The men were survivors of the sinking of the Liberia-flagged Eternity C, one of two commercial vessels sunk within days of each other in the Red Sea in July. The Houthis released a video of the attack on the ship, saying they had "rescued" an unspecified number of the crew and taken them to a safe location.
On Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry of the Philippines said it had received word from Oman that the "nine Filipino seafarers of the ill-fated M/V Eternity C, held hostage by the Houthis in the Red Sea, will be released".
The statement, which credited the efforts of the Omani government, said the men would be transferred from rebel-held Sanaa to Oman before returning home. A foreign affairs spokesman declined to provide a timeline for the release or say if it was bound by any conditions.
The July sinkings of the Eternity C and Magic Seas broke a months-long lull in Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, which began after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. The attacks, which the Houthis say are against Israel-linked shipping in solidarity with the Palestinians, have prompted many firms to avoid a route through which about 12 per cent of global trade normally passes.
