Salvagers abandon effort to tow burning oil tanker in Red Sea targeted by Yemen's Houthi rebels

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Salvagers have abandoned an effort to tow away a burning oil tanker in the Red Sea targeted by Yemen’s Houthi rebels

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Salvagers abandoned an effort to tow away a burning oil tanker in the Red Sea targeted by Yemen's Houthi rebels as it “was not safe to proceed,” a European Union naval mission said Tuesday.

The announcement by the EU's Operation Aspides leaves the Sounion stranded in the Red Sea, threatening to spill its 1 million barrels of oil.

While a major spill has yet to occur, the incident threatens to become one of the worst yet in Iranian-backed rebels’ campaign that has disrupted the $1 trillion in goods that pass through the Red Sea each year over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. It also has halted some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen.

“The private companies responsible for the salvage operation have concluded that the conditions were not met to conduct the towing operation and that it was not safe to proceed,” the EU mission said, without elaborating. “Alternative solutions are now being explored by the private companies.”

The EU mission did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press about the announcement. The safety issue could be from the fire still burning aboard the vessel — NASA fire satellites detected a blaze in the area the Sounion was anchored on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, there's the threat of attacks by the Houthis, who on Monday targeted two other oil tankers traveling through the Red Sea. The Houthis have suggested they'll allow a salvage operation to take place, but critics say the rebels have used the threat of an environmental disaster previously involving another oil tanker off Yemen to extract concessions from the