Oil tanker ablaze and adrift after Red Sea attack

The Greek-flagged vessel was on its way from Iraq to Athens when it was allegedly targeted by Yemen’s Houthis

A Greek-flagged oil tanker traveling through the Red Sea caught fire on Wednesday as a result of attacks near a Yemeni port controlled by Houthi rebels, various media outlets have reported, citing the British military. A crew of 25 have reportedly been rescued from the vessel.

The ‘Sounion’ was attacked by more than a dozen people on two small boats firing projectiles at the ship. The vessel was about 77 nautical miles (143km) west of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah when the attack happened on Wednesday morning, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

The fire led to the vessel losing engine power and its ability to maneuver.

“The vessel reports being not under command,” the UKMTO stated, adding that no casualties have been reported.

The EU’s Red Sea naval mission, ‘Aspides’, said it had responded to a request from the shipping company and the vessel’s captain on Thursday, dispatching a unit to provide protection for the crew.

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According to Reuters, the vessel is carrying 150,000 tons of crude.

The UKMTO later stated that the ship was adrift and on fire in the Red Sea, while Aspides said on X that the vessel “now represents a navigational and environmental hazard.”

The Sounion is the third vessel operated by Athens-based Delta Tankers to be attacked in the Red Sea in August. The company’s Liberia-flagged Delta Atlantica and Delta Blue tankers were also hit in separate attacks earlier this month.

The Houthis, a Shia Islamist group that controls a large part of Yemen, have been attacking merchant vessels since October, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza who are under assault from Israel. The militants have vowed to continue disrupting shipping along the vital maritime trade route until Israel stops its war against Hamas.

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The attacks have led many shipping companies to avoid the Red Sea region, sending their vessels on costlier and longer routes around the tip of Africa.

Greek Maritime Affairs Minister Christos Stylianides condemned the attack on the Sounion as “a flagrant violation of international law and a serious threat to the security of international shipping.”