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DUBAI/ATHENS (Reuters) – A Greek-flagged tanker carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil is now an environmental hazard after its crew evacuated it following an attack in the Red Sea, the EU’s Red Sea Naval Task Force Aspidos said on Thursday.
The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous region, said Thursday they attacked the Sounion tanker in the Red Sea. The Iran-aligned group has been attacking ships in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Sari said in televised remarks that Sounion “belongs to a company with links to Israel’s enemies, which violated the decision to ban access to occupied Palestinian ports.”
On Wednesday, the port of Sounio was hit by multiple projectiles near the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah.
“The MV SOUNION is carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil and now poses a threat to navigation and the environment,” Aspides said in a post on social media platform X.
The Sounion was the third Delta Tankers tanker attacked in the Red Sea this month. Delta Tankers said in a statement that the attack caused a fire on board the vessel, which the crew successfully extinguished.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday that the attack caused the engine to lose power. On Thursday, UKMTO said the ship had been anchored and all crew members had been evacuated.
A maritime security source told Reuters the ship was currently anchored between Yemen and Eritrea.
Delta Tankers said plans were being made to move the Sounion to a safer location for further inspection and repairs.
Aspides said the EU Red Sea naval delegation said it had responded to the Sounion’s captain’s request to send a vessel to Djibouti to rescue the crew.
“While approaching the area, EU NAVFOR ASPIDES destroyed an unmanned surface vessel (USV) posing an imminent threat to the ship and crew,” Aspides added.
The Greek Shipping Ministry said the ship was travelling from Iraq to Agios Theodoroi, Greece, with two Russians and 23 Filipinos on board.
The Houthis have launched dozens of attacks in the Red Sea since November, sinking two ships, seizing another, killing at least three crew members and disrupting global trade by forcing shipowners to avoid the popular Suez Canal trade shortcut.
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on Thursday that “during this week’s operation against ships heading to Israel in violation of the blockade, a ship broke down due to the attack and drifted with the wind and waves,” but he did not reveal the name of the ship.
In another incident on Thursday, the SW North Wind I collided with an unmanned vessel 57 nautical miles south of the Yemeni port of Aden, causing minor damage after an explosion occurred near the vessel, the UK Maritime Trade Organization said. The vessel and its crew are safe and the vessel is heading to its next port of call.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they had directly hit the Sinhala-1 in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
Greek Shipping Minister Christos Stylianides on Wednesday condemned the attack on the Sounion, calling it a “flagrant violation of international law and a serious threat to the security of international shipping.”
The Houthi attacks triggered retaliatory strikes from the United States and Britain.
British Ambassador to Yemen Abda Sharif called the Houthi attack “illegal and reckless”.
“Another Houthi attack threatens Yemen’s coastline, fisheries and environmental disaster. Fortunately, the crew has been rescued, but the MV Sounion, carrying 150,000 tons of oil, is now stranded,” she added in a post on X.
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