(Athens) The towing of an oil tanker attacked in August by Yemeni Houthi rebels, with a cargo of more than a million barrels of crude oil and threatening to cause an ecological disaster, began on Saturday, according to a source in the Greek Defense Ministry.
“The tugboat Aigaion Pelagos “began to gradually tow the tanker north, escorted by military vessels,” the source told AFP, adding that the ships’ radars had been disabled for security reasons.
She said a rescue team had boarded and attached tow cables, overcoming “adverse conditions.”
The Greek news agency ANA said the tug was escorted by three frigates, helicopters and a special forces team, without revealing their nationality.
The tanker was anchored west of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, halfway between Yemen and Eritrea.
“Avoiding a catastrophe”
The European Union’s naval mission in the Red Sea, Aspides, launched to protect merchant shipping from Houthi attacks, earlier said that “the rescue operation of the MV Sounion (was) essential to avoid an environmental catastrophe.”
If it ruptured or exploded, it would pose the risk of an oil spill four times larger than that caused by the Exxon Valdez in 1989 off the coast of Alaska, experts say.
A rescue operation had already been attempted earlier in the month, but Aspides had said that the private companies involved had decided it was not “safe” to do so.
THE Sounionwhich is carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, caught fire and lost power after being attacked on 21 August. Its 25 crew members were evacuated the following day by a French frigate from the Aspides mission, deployed in the area.
PHOTO EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, BY REUTERS
Several boats are taking part in the towing operation.
Days later, rebels claimed to have detonated charges on the ship’s deck, sparking further fires.
The ship was still on fire on September 12, but there was no sign of oil leaking from the main hold, Aspides said Friday.
The Houthis, who control large swathes of Yemen, have for months targeted ships they believe are linked to Israel, the United States or the United Kingdom, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in the context of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Their attacks have disrupted traffic in this maritime zone essential for global trade, prompting the United States to set up an international maritime coalition and strike rebel targets in Yemen, sometimes with the help of the United Kingdom.
The threat of Sounion in the Red Sea recalls the risk that the supertanker has long posed FSO Safera 47-year-old oil tanker abandoned for years off the coast of Yemen, due to the civil war that has torn the poor country apart for more than a decade.
In August 2023, the United Nations successfully transferred its cargo of more than a million barrels of oil after a long and costly operation.