Engulfed in flames and abandoned by its crew, the Sounion The Red Sea is threatened with environmental disaster. Attacked on August 21 by the Houthis, the Yemeni Shiite armed group that controls most of Yemen, the Greek-flagged tanker was burned with a million barrels on board. Or 150,000 tons of crude oil. On Tuesday, September 3, two tugboats linked to a private company tried in vain to steer it to a safe port following Saudi Arabia’s mediation with the Yemeni rebels. The operation was suspended due to the fire.
The Red Sea has been the scene of attacks by the Houthis, militarily supported by Iran, for almost a year. The latter say they attack ships linked to Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. On August 22, a Houthi spokesman, Yahya Sarie, claimed responsibility for the attack in a press statement. According to him, the attack Sounion “It belongs to a company that deals with the Israeli enemy.”
In satellite images taken by the Planet space imaging service on Thursday, September 5, the Sounion It was still engulfed in flames, with a dozen fires burning on its upper deck. On Friday, an image captured by a commercial ship sailing in the vicinity of the Greek tanker showed it engulfed in a cloud of smoke, two weeks after the Houthis attacked the tanker.
On August 21st in the early morning, the Sounion had been attacked about 100 kilometres west of the port of Hodeida, a stronghold of the Yemeni group, by two small boats, according to the account of its captain transmitted by the British Maritime Safety Agency: “The two small vessels saluted the merchant ship, leading to a brief exchange of small arms fire.” between the attackers and members of a private security company present on board. To protect themselves from pirate attacks, which operate mainly from the Somali coast further south, shipowners use armed guards.
“Risk of war”
Two hours later, on August 21, the Sounion announces having been hit, this time by two unidentified projectiles. Then, shortly before 8 am local time, the captain reported having been attacked by a “Third unknown projectile.” A fire breaks out on board, the propulsion is put out of action and the ship is left adrift. The officer also reports the presence of another small boat acting suspiciously in the vicinity. The crew is then evacuated by a French warship taking part in Operation Aspides, a maritime security mission under the supervision of the European Union.
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