🚢 A Regular Day Turns Dangerous
Cocoy, a 38-year-old Filipino sailor, was just trying to rest in his small bedroom (called a cabin) on a big cargo ship named Magic Seas. He was off-duty and relaxing. But suddenly, a loud voice came through the ship’s speakers.
“We are under attack!”
It was the ship captain’s voice, and it meant something very bad was happening.
At first, Cocoy thought he heard a small “knock.” But it wasn’t a knock—it was gunshots. The ship was being attacked!
😨 Houthi Rebels Attack the Ship
The attackers were Houthi rebels, a group from Yemen. They came in fast speedboats, trying to surround and climb onto the ship.
The attack happened on July 6, in the Red Sea, a busy water path where ships travel between countries. These Houthi attacks started months ago because of the war happening in Gaza.
On that day, it was the Magic Seas that got caught in the crossfire.
Cocoy and his crewmates rushed to the middle of the ship, to a safe area called the “muster station.” It’s where everyone gathers during emergencies.
“There was panic, but we had to move like we were robots,” Cocoy said.
He said some of his shipmates were confused and scared, but they still did their safety jobs as they had practiced.
🚤 Tiny Boats, Big Trouble
According to what the ship’s security team told Cocoy, boats were attacking from every side—left, right, and back. One bigger boat even had about 15 armed men trying to climb aboard the ship.
Luckily, the ship had three Sri Lankan security guards who had guns. They fought back and stopped the attackers from boarding.
The crew of the Magic Seas had 22 people on board, and 17 of them were Filipino, just like Cocoy.
💥 Loud Bangs, Then a Hole in the Ship
Cocoy said the rebels fired many dangerous weapons—missiles and drones—and one of them made a big hole in the ship. Water started coming in fast.
“I lost count of how many hits we took,” Cocoy said.
With the ship flooding, they made the hard decision to leave the ship. All 22 sailors got into a lifeboat and floated away from the sinking Magic Seas.
🌊 Floating for Hours in the Red Sea
They floated in the middle of the Red Sea for three very long hours before another ship—a container ship from Panama—came to rescue them.
“Those were the longest hours of my life,” Cocoy said.
While floating, he couldn’t stop thinking about his wife and child back home.
“I thought I was going to die,” he whispered.
As they drifted away, the Magic Seas disappeared under the waves.
😢 Another Ship Attacked After
Just one day after Cocoy’s ship was attacked, another ship, called the Eternity C, was also attacked. It also had many Filipino crew members.
That attack was worse—10 people were rescued, but 15 are missing or believed dead.
Some reports even say that a few Filipino sailors may have been taken as hostages by the Houthi rebels.
🇵🇭 Sailors Are Filipino Heroes
Did you know that Filipinos make up 30% of the world’s commercial sailors? That means a lot of ships around the world are kept running because of brave Filipinos like Cocoy.
In 2023, they sent home almost $7 billion to their families in the Philippines.
🧠 The Scars Remain
Even though Cocoy survived, he now has nightmares and feels very scared about what happened. He said:
“What happened to us was not normal… I don’t know if I will go back to sea again.”
He also asked shipowners to stop sending ships through the Red Sea, because it’s too dangerous.
“This is something no one should ever experience,” he said.
Now, Cocoy is safe, but many other sailors are still missing, and families are waiting for answers.
