Greek-flagged tanker is burning after Houthi attacks, but no sign of oil spill
A Greek-flagged tanker repeatedly attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea remains ablaze but hasn’t sprung a major oil leak in the waterway
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Greek-flagged tanker repeatedly attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea remains ablaze but hasn't sprung a major oil leak in the waterway, a European Union naval command said Monday.
The attack on the Sounion marks the most serious assault in weeks by the rebels, who continue to target shipping through the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The attacks have disrupted the $1 trillion in trade that typically passes through the region, as well as halting some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen.
Images published by the EU's Operation Aspides, whose mission is to protect shipping in the area, showed smoke rising from multiple points along the Sounion's deck and its bridge Sunday. Fires could be seen burning in at least nine different locations on the deck of the vessel, which had been loaded with 150,000 tons of Iraqi crude oil — roughly 1 million barrels. Some flames appeared near hatches of the tanker's oil tanks.
«So far there are no obvious signs of an oil spill,» the EU mission said. The Sounion “is both a navigational and an imminent environmental hazard. This situation underlines that these kinds of attacks pose not only a threat against the freedom of navigation but also to the lives of seafarers, the environment, and subsequently the life of all citizens living in that region.”
The U.S. State Department similarly warned about the ecological danger to the Red Sea, home to coral reefs and other natural habitats and wildlife. Footage showing explosions
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