(Dubai) The rescue of an oil tanker still on fire after being attacked by Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen is “ongoing,” the US military’s Middle East Command (CENTCOM) said Monday evening.
THE Sounionwhich flies the Greek flag and is carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, was hit on August 21 by projectiles launched by the Houthis.
The Iranian-backed insurgents then claimed to have detonated explosive devices on the ship, causing several fires on board, before “authorizing” its rescue.
According to a CENTCOM post on X, “salvage operations are underway” and the ship, “still on fire,” poses the threat of a “serious environmental disaster.”
Earlier on Monday, the European Union’s Aspides mission wrote on X that it would provide “protection to the tugs, which will carry out the rescue operation and facilitate their efforts to prevent an environmental disaster” in the Red Sea.
“Several fires continue to burn on the main deck of the ship,” but there are currently “no visible signs of an oil spill,” she also said.
The crew of the Sounionmade up of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was rescued the day after the Houthi attack by a French frigate engaged in the European mission.
PHOTO YORUK ISIK, REUTERS ARCHIVES
The Joint Maritime Information Centre said one of the two ships hit by an attack was the Blue Lagoon Ia Panamanian-flagged oil tanker.
Operation Aspides was launched in February to protect merchant shipping from Houthi attacks. The mission is purely defensive, authorized to fire to defend ships or defend itself.
The rebels, who control the capital and large swathes of Yemeni territory, have been targeting ships they believe are linked to Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where a war has been raging between the Islamist movement Hamas and Israel since October 7.
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.
Two more ships were hit in attacks off Yemen on Monday, according to the UK Maritime Safety Agency (UKMTO).
According to CENTCOM, these are two oil tankers, one flying the Panamanian flag, the other Saudi Arabian. The second is carrying some two million barrels of crude, according to the same source.