DUBAI, July 9. /TASS/. Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on the Greek dry cargo ship Eternity C, which later sank in the Red Sea.

According the Houthi spokesman, Yahya Saree, the attack was prompted by the fact that the shipowner restarted operations with the Israeli port of Eilat.

"Yemeni naval forces struck the Eternity C ship, which was heading to the port of Umm al-Rashrash (the Arabic name of Eilat - TASS) in occupied Palestine. The attack was carried out with an unmanned boat and six cruise and ballistic missiles. As a result of the operation, the vessel was completely sunk," he told the Houthi-owned Al Masirah television channel.

He also said that the Houthis "came to the aid of several of the ship's crew members, provided them with medical assistance and took them to safety." According to Reuters, which was the first to report that the ship sank, at least 4 people were killed in the attack. On July 9, rescuers from the European maritime mission Aspides plucked six crew members from the Red Sea. The remaining 15 people were reported missing as of the evening of July 9. The rescued sailors spent more than a day in the water.

According to Saree, all civilian ships whose owners and operators operate in Israeli ports will be attacked in any area accessible to the Yemeni armed forces, regardless of the destination of these ships.

"We again warn companies and countries of the consequences of cooperating with the Zionist entity and sending ships to the ports of occupied Palestine," he said.

Earlier, the UK Navy's Maritime Trade Coordination Center reported that the ship was hit by five projectiles from a rocket-propelled grenade launcher on July 7. The next day, the attack from small motorboats continued, seriously damaging the dry cargo ship and causing it to lose power. The incident occurred 51 nautical miles west of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah.