An oil tanker’s crew has been rescued after an attack in the Red Sea off Yemen but the stricken ship now poses an “environmental hazard”, an EU naval mission said Thursday.
Several projectiles hit the Greek-flagged Sounion off the rebel-held Yemeni port of Hodeida on Wednesday, causing a fire and cutting engine power, according to the UKMTO maritime agency which is run by Britain’s Royal Navy.
The attack was claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who have waged a campaign against international shipping that they say is in support of Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.
In a statement, the Huthis said the Sounion “belongs to a company that has ties with the Israeli enemy” and was “accurately and directly hit” with drones and missiles.
The European Union’s Aspides mission said it sent a ship to rescue the crew of the vessel, which was carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil.
Later on Thursday, UKMTO said: “The vessel is now at anchor and all crew have been evacuated.”
The Sounion, owned by Greek shipping company Delta Tankers, carried a crew of 25 people, including 23 Filipinos and two Russians, according to Greece’s ports authority.
“All on board the MV Sounion were subsequently rescued and are being transported to Djibouti, the nearest safe port of call,” the Aspides mission said in a statement on social media platform X.
The unmanned vessel is now anchored in the Red Sea between Eritrea and Yemen, according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC), run by a Western naval coalition.
The EU naval force, formed in February to protect merchant vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by the Huthi rebels, warned that the ship “now represents a navigational and environmental hazard”.
“It is essential that everyone in the area exercises caution and refrains from any actions that could lead to a deterioration of the current situation,” it said.
Six explosions in 24 hours
According to JMIC, the ship was abandoned and the fire was reported to be contained, with one crew member sustaining a minor injury.
The Greek ports authority said the ship had departed from Iraq and was destined for a port near Athens where many refineries are based.
Delta Tankers said that “plans are in place to move the vessel to a safer destination where a full assessment (checks and any repairs) can be undertaken”.
It did not specify where the ship would be taken to.
This is the third Delta Tankers vessel attacked in the Red Sea this month, after Delta Blue and Delta Atlantica, according to shipping data.
It is also the latest involving Philippines crew. One Filipino remains missing from a Red Sea attack on the MV Tutor in June, while 17 Filipino crew of the Galaxy Leader have remained in Huthi captivity since the ship was seized last November.
In a separate incident south of the Yemeni port of Aden, another ship reported six explosions in close proximity over the past 24 hours, UKMTO said.
The latest blast, caused by a sea drone, inflicted minor damage, UKMTO said Thursday, adding that the vessel and crew are reported safe and proceeding to the next port of call.
The Huthis, in their Thursday statement, said their “operations… will not stop until the aggression is stopped”, referring to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
