Houthis parade missing crew of Eternity C cargo ship after sinking it in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthi rebels released footage on Monday of missing crew members from a cargo ship the rebels sank three weeks ago, saying 11 sailors had been “rescued”.

Many of the Eternity C's crew were unaccounted for after the Houthis attacked the ship in the Red Sea, where the group has declared a “blockade” in solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Several are believed to be dead.

The Houthis said on Monday that the Liberia-flagged ship had been heading for the Israeli port of Eilat – a day after announcing their attacks would now extend to all companies “dealing with Israeli ports”. The US has condemned what it called the kidnapping of the surviving crew members.

Egyptians throw supplies into Mediterranean and pray they reach Gaza

Houthi naval forces were “able to rescue 11 of the ship's crew at sea, including two wounded who were provided with medical care”, the group said in a statement carried by the news agency Saba. It said the ship was sunk on June 9 “as a result of violating the naval embargo against the enemy entity”, meaning Israel.

It said one person was found dead onboard the Eternity C before it sank, and that their body was taken to a hospital morgue. Three to four people have previously been reported dead.

The Houthi video appeared to be showing the moment the mostly Filipino crew were pulled from the sea wearing life jackets, although the footage was taken at night and the ship sank during the day. The captive crew members were shown saying the ship was heading for Eilat, and said at the end: “We are sorry, Palestinians.” It was not clear if they were speaking under duress.

Crew members of the Eternity C cargo ship. It is unclear if they were speaking under duress. EPA

One man the Houthis said was an electrician was shown lying in bed and speaking in English. An EU naval force had said a Russian electrician onboard the ship lost his leg.

The attack on the Eternity C came a day after the Houthis sank another cargo ship, the Magic Seas. On that occasion a UAE rescue mission brought all 22 crew members to safety.

Human Rights Watch has condemned the attacks as a breach of the laws of war. “The Houthis have sought to justify unlawful attacks by pointing to Israeli violations against Palestinians,” Niku Jafarnia, a researcher on Yemen and Bahrain for the organisation, said last week. “The Houthis should end all attacks on ships not taking part in the conflict and immediately release the crew members in their custody."

The Houthis announced on Sunday that they had “decided to escalate their military support operations” into what they called a fourth phase, extending their attacks to all companies dealing with Israel's ports. Vessels may be attacked regardless of their destination, they added.

The attacks on Red Sea vessels have damaged trade in one of the world's most important shipping lanes. Operators have taken longer routes around the southern tip of Africa, adding to costs and delaying journeys.

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”