- Houthi attack ignites Greek oil tanker, causing spill
- Crew rescued; tanker poses environmental hazard
- Ongoing Houthi assaults disrupt Red Sea shipping
The Greek-flagged Sounion crude oil ship is still on fire after being attacked by Yemen’s Houthi militia last week, and it appears to be spilling oil, the Pentagon reports.
According to Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, the tanker carries around one million barrels of crude oil.
The US is “aware of a third party that attempted to send two tugs to the vessel to help salvage, but they were warned away by the Houthis and threatened with being attacked,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
On August 21, the Sounion was assaulted by multiple rockets off Yemen’s port city of Hodeida.
Since November, the Iran-aligned Houthis have targeted vessels in the Red Sea area, claiming to be acting in sympathy with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s ongoing bombardment on the enclave.
Ryder stated that the leaking tanker is a nautical hazard and a potential environmental catastrophe.
These are just reckless acts of terrorism that continue to destabilize global and regional commerce, endanger the lives of innocent civilian mariners, and jeopardize the vibrant maritime ecosystem in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Houthis’ backyard, Ryder stated.
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The European Union’s Red Sea navy mission replied to a request from the shipping firm and the vessel’s captain by sending a unit to protect the crew of 23 Filipinos and two Russians.
The crew abandoned the ship and was rescued by the EU mission. There were no reported injuries.
According to Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, the vessel was targeted because its operator, Athens-based Delta Tankers, breached the restriction on “entry to the ports of occupied Palestine.
The Sounion was Delta Tankers’ third tanker to be assaulted in the Red Sea this month.
According to Ryder, the incident occurred on August 21 while the ship was heading from Iraq to Greece.
Since beginning its attacks on ships with Israeli ties, the Yemeni organization has sunk two boats and killed at least three crew members.
Its efforts have impacted global commerce, causing many ship owners to avoid the Red Sea region and instead send their vessels over longer and more expensive routes around Africa’s southern point.
