Rescued crew of Greek ship sunk by Houthis taken to Saudi Arabia

(Corrects typo in headline)

By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS (Reuters) -Ten mariners rescued after Houthi militants sank a Greek ship last week have arrived in Saudi Arabia, maritime security sources said on Monday, after rescuers ended their search for the remaining crew.

The rescue mission began on Wednesday when the Iran-aligned group sank the Liberia-flagged Eternity C cargo ship, with 22 crew and three armed guards on board, after attacking the vessel with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades over two consecutive days.

Eight crew members and two security guards were rescued. All the crew were Filipino, except for one Russian.

On Sunday, maritime risk management firm Diaplous and British security firm Ambrey said in a joint statement that the vessel's owner had decided to end the privately-run search for the remaining crew.

"The decision to end the search has been taken by the vessel's owner reluctantly, but it believes that, in all the circumstances, the priority must now be to get the 10 souls safely recovered alive ashore," they said.

The ship carrying the rescued crew has arrived in Jizan, a Diaplous official said.

The remaining 15 people who were on board are considered missing, according to the vessel's Greece-based manager, Cosmoship. Five of them are believed to have died before the vessel sank, according to maritime security sources.

The Houthis said last week that they picked up some of the crew after the vessel went down. Cosmoship said that it was trying to verify the claim.

Before attacking Eternity C the Houthis had sunk another Greek ship, the Magic Seas. Its crew were rescued by a passing ship.

The EU's naval mission Aspides, which protects shipping in the Red Sea, has said that it had no naval assets in the area at the time of the attacks. No international naval force was present, according to maritime security sources.

The Houthis have attacked more than 100 ships since November 2023 in what they say is an act of solidarity with the Palestinians over the Gaza war.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Writing by Hatem Maher; Editing by Sandra Maler and Kate Mayberry)