Oil tanker ‘Sounion’ 'poses environmental risk' after Red Sea attack
August 22, 2024 
An abandoned oil tanker, at risk of sinking due to poor maintenance, is anchored off Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on July 21, 2021
A Greek-flagged oil tanker carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude that was evacuated by its crew after being attacked in the Red Sea now poses an environmental hazard, the EU’s Red Sea naval mission “Aspides” said on Thursday, Reuters reports.
“Sounion” was targeted on Wednesday by multiple projectiles off Yemen’s port city of Hudaydah, where the Houthis have been attacking ships in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Palestine in Gaza.
“Carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, the MV SOUNION now represents a navigational and environmental hazard,” “Aspides” said in a post on social media platform X.
The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous regions, have yet to claim responsibility for the attack.
The “Sounion” was the third vessel operated by Athens-based Delta Tankers to be attacked in the Red Sea this month. The attack caused a fire onboard, which was extinguished by the crew, Delta Tankers said in a statement.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency reported on Wednesday that the attack led to the loss of engine power. The vessel was now anchored between Yemen and Eritrea, a maritime security source told Reuters on Thursday.
Delta Tankers said it is working on a plan to move “Sounion” to a safer destination for further checks and repairs.
The EU Red Sea naval mission said it responded to a request from the captain of the “Sounion” and dispatched a ship to rescue the crew to Djibouti, the “Aspides” said.
“While approaching the area, the EUNAVFOR ASPIDES ship destroyed an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) that posed an imminent threat to the ship and the crew,” “Aspides” added.
The Greek shipping ministry said the vessel was sailing from Iraq to Agioi Theodoroi in Greece with a crew of two Russians and 23 Filipinos.
In dozens of attacks in the Red Sea since November, the Houthis have sunk two vessels and seized another, killed at least three sailors and upended global trade by forcing ship owners to avoid the popular Suez Canal trade shortcut.
In another incident on Thursday, a vessel reported an explosion close to it that caused minor damage after an encounter with an uncrewed vessel, 57 nautical miles south of Yemen’s port of Aden, the UKMTO said. The vessel and its crew were safe and it was proceeding to its next port of call.
Greek Shipping Minister, Christos Stylianidis, condemned on Wednesday the attack on the “Sounion”, saying it was “a flagrant violation of international law and a serious threat to the safety of international shipping”
Greek-flagged oil tanker drifting ablaze in Red Sea after apparent Houthi attack
Sounion’s 25 sailors rescued after worst assault by Yemeni group since Israel struck Hodeida in July in response to Tel Aviv drone; 2nd ship attacked in Aden Gulf, no damage
By Jon Gambrell
Armed Yemenis lift placards and flags during a rally in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa in solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza, August 16, 2024. (Abdallah Adel / AFP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Greek-flagged oil tanker traveling through the Red Sea came under repeated attack Wednesday, leaving the vessel “not under command” and drifting ablaze after an assault suspected to have been carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the British military said.
The crew of the Sounion, made up of two Russians and 23 Filipinos, abandoned the vessel and was rescued by the European Unions’s Red Sea naval mission “Aspides,” an official in the mission told Reuters on Thursday.
The attack, the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks, comes during a monthslong campaign by Houthis targeting ships over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that has disrupted a trade route through which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year.
In the attack, men on small boats first opened fire with small arms about 140 kilometers (90 miles) west of the rebel-held Yemeni port city of Hodeida, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.
Four projectiles also hit the ship, it added. It wasn’t immediately clear if that meant drones or missiles.
“The vessel reports being not under command,” the UKMTO said, likely meaning it lost all power. “No casualties reported.” Later, the UKMTO warned that the ship was drifting while on fire in the Red Sea.
The Greek shipping ministry later identified the vessel as the tanker Sounion, with 25 crew members on board at the time of the attack as it traveled from Iraq to Cyprus.
Later Wednesday, the UKMTO reported a second ship being targeted in the Gulf of Aden by three explosions that occurred in the water close to it, though they caused no damage. That ship, the Wind I, came under attack again Thursday with two more explosions striking in the water, the UKMTO said.
The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks, though it can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge their assaults. However, they did acknowledge US airstrikes in Hodeida, which the American military’s Central Command said destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile and radar system.
The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s thousands-strong October 7 assault on southern Israel that left nearly 1,200 people dead and saw 251 kidnapped. Since November, the Yemeni rebels have also seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors.
Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.
The Houthis maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the United States or the UK to force an end to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
The Houthis have also launched drones and missiles toward Israel, including an attack on July 19 that killed one person and wounded 10 others in Tel Aviv. Israel responded the next day with airstrikes on Hodeida that hit fuel depots and electrical stations, killing and wounding a number of people, the rebels say.
After the strikes, the Houthis paused their attacks until August 3, when they hit a Liberian-flagged container ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden. A Liberian-flagged oil tanker came under a particularly intense series of attacks beginning August 8, likely carried out by the rebels. A similar attack happened on August 13.
The last three recent attacks, including Wednesday’s, targeted vessels associated with Delta Tankers, a Greek company.
As Iran threatens to retaliate against Israel over the July 31 assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran — which Israel neither confirmed nor denied carrying out — the US military told the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area.
Early Thursday, the US military’s Central Command said the Lincoln had reached the Mideast’s waters, without elaborating.
Additional F-22 fighter jets have flown into the region and the USS Wasp, a large amphibious assault ship carrying F-35 fighter jets, is in the Mediterranean Sea.
Reuters and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
French destroyer rescues 29 mariners from oil tanker attacked in Red Sea
A French destroyer has rescued 29 mariners from an oil tanker that came under repeated attack in the Red Sea, officials said on Thursday.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels are suspected to have carried out the assault on the Sounion. The attack, the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks, comes during a months-long campaign by Houthis targeting ships over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that has disrupted trade routes.
The Sounion is now at anchor in the Red Sea and no longer drifting, the European Union’s Operation Aspides said. However, it was not clear if the vessel was still on fire. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of Filipinos and Russians.
Military officials did not name the French destroyer involved in the rescue.
In the attack on Wednesday, men on small boats first opened fire with small arms about 90 miles west of the rebel-held Yemeni port city of Hodeida, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said.
Four projectiles also hit the ship, it added.
The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks, though it can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge their assaults. However, they did acknowledge US air strikes in Hodeida that the American military’s Central Command said destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile and radar system.
The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors.
Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.
The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the United States or the UK to force an end to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
As Iran threatens to retaliate against Israel over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the US military told the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area. Early on Thursday, the US military’s Central Command said the Lincoln had reached the Middle East’s waters, without elaborating.
America has also ordered the USS Georgia-guided missile submarine into the Middle East, while the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group was in the Gulf of Oman.
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