A retired Indian Army soldier, Anilkumar Raveendran from Kayamkulam, has been released from Houthi captivity in Yemen after enduring five months of confinement. The 52-year-old former soldier was detained on July 7 while serving as a security officer aboard the Liberian-flagged cargo vessel MV Eternity, which was attacked and later sunk in the Red Sea amid the escalating Israel–Gaza conflict.
Anilkumar revealed that although he was not physically harmed, he was held in a small room in Sanaa for the entire duration of his captivity, describing the experience as severe mental torture. He returned to India on Thursday, bringing an end to a distressing wait for his family.
The attack on MV Eternity occurred as the vessel was headed to the Israeli port of Eilat. Four crew members were killed in the assault, while six others—including an Indian, Augustin from Parassala—were rescued by the EU Naval Force soon after. However, Anilkumar and ten crew members (nine Filipinos and one Greek national) remained in Houthi custody until their recent release.
Before joining the merchant shipping industry five years ago through Ocean Group Overseas Consultancy, Anilkumar served 19 years in the Indian Army. He is now reunited with his wife Sreeja and their two children: son Anuj, a BSc Emergency Medicine student, and daughter Anugha, a Plus-I student.
His safe return closes a harrowing chapter for the family and highlights the increasing risks faced by seafarers navigating conflict-affected waters in the Red Sea region.
