WAR IS ECOCIDE
EU-led rescue mission for Houthi-hit ship off Yemen ‘about to begin’


Euractiv.com with AFP
Sep 2, 2024

A handout photo made available by the Houthis media center shows a masked Houthi fighter with a rifle boarding the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion following Yemen's Houthis attacks, in the Red Sea, 29 August 2024. [Handout photo/EPA/EFE]
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A rescue mission for an oil tanker still ablaze after being attacked by Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen last month, is about to begin, the European Union’s Red Sea naval mission said late Monday (2 September).

The Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion was hit by the Houthis off the coast of Hodeida on August 21 while carrying 150,000 metric tons of crude oil.

The Iran-backed rebels said they had booby-trapped and detonated charges on the ship.

The EU’s Aspides mission said on Monday an operation involving private companies was “about to start” to salvage the vessel.

The naval force “will provide protection to the tug boats, that will deal with the salvage operation and facilitate their efforts to prevent an environmental disaster,” it announced on X.

“Several fires continue to burn on the vessel’s main deck,” the mission added, noting that there were “no visible signs of an oil spill.”

The Sounion’s crew, made up of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was rescued the day after the attack by a French frigate serving with Aspides.

The EU naval force was formed in February to protect merchant vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthi rebels, who have waged a campaign against international shipping that they say is intended to show solidarity with Palestinian group Hamas in its war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency, two other ships were struck in attacks off the coast of Yemen on Monday.

In a post on X, CENTCOM, the US Central Command, said “salvage efforts are underway” in the southern Red Sea for the disabled vessel, “which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster.”

CENTCOM condemned such Houthi attacks as “reckless” and promised to “continue to work with international partners and allies” to protect trade and mitigate environmental impacts in the region.

(Edited by Georgi Gotev)