The Greek-flagged oil tanker MV Sounion was left adrift and burning in the Red Sea on Wednesday after multiple attacks from the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen.
The Sounion has a 25-man crew and was carrying about 150,000 tons of crude oil through the Red Sea, en route from Basra, Iraq, to the port of Agioi Theodoroi in Greece. The vessel is operated by the Athens-based Delta Tankers company, which has seen two other ships attacked by the Houthis during their terror campaign against Red Sea shipping.
Two small boats full of armed men approached the tanker as it passed about 77 nautical miles west of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday morning. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Center said the crew of the Sounion exchanged small arms fire with the attackers.
Later on Wednesday morning, multiple projectiles launched from near Hodeidah targeted the tanker, probably either ballistic missiles or explosive-packed drones. The attack started a fire aboard the Sounion and caused it to lose engine power.
According to Delta Tankers, the tanker’s crew was able to extinguish the fire before abandoning the ship. The vessel made a distress call to the European Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) in the region, which dispatched a warship to assist the Sounion.
The EUNAVFOR ship reported targeting and destroying an unmanned surface vessel (USV) — or drone boat — which “posed an imminent threat to the ship and the crew.”
The crew was evacuated safely and taken to the nearest safe port of Djibouti. The Sounion was left adrift for several hours, but its anchor was eventually lowered.
EUNAVFOR warned on Thursday morning:
Carrying 150.000 tonnes of crude oil, the MV Sounion 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.
The Houthis took responsibility for the attack on Thursday, claiming a Western ship was “violating a blockade on vessels heading to Israel” and was left “adrift due to waves after it malfunctioned because of strikes.” The Houthi statement did not identify the Sounion by name.
Greek Shipping Minister Christos Sytlianidis condemned the attack as a “flagrant violation of international law and a serious threat to the safety of international shipping.”
UK Ambassador to Yemen Abda Sharif denounced the attack as “illegal and reckless,” pointing out that the Houthis, once again, threatened “Yemen’s coastline and fishing industry” with an “environmental catastrophe.”
Another ship was reportedly attacked on Thursday: a U.S.-owned, Panama-flagged cargo ship called SW North Wind I.
UKMTO received reports of five explosions in waters near the ship, but all five strikes, evidently, missed, as the ship was able to continue without damage or harm to the crew. The ship reported encountering a USV as it passed about 57 nautical miles south of the Yemeni port of Aden.
The Houthis also claimed responsibility for attacking SW North Wind I, and, in that case, they did specifically use the name of the ship. The Houthis described the cargo vessel as belonging to “a company that deals with the Israeli enemy” and said it “violated the decision to ban entry to the ports of occupied Palestine [sic].”
