Fires observed on board Greek-flagged tanker in Red Sea, says maritime agency

Three fires broke out on a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea, Britain's Maritime Trade Action said on Friday, a day after rescuers evacuated the crew after an attack by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous region, said on Thursday they had attacked the Suneen oil tanker as part of their 10-month campaign against commercial shipping in support of Palestinian involvement in Israel and Gaza. war between Sri Lanka.

The Houthis damaged the tanker for the first time on Wednesday and launched repeated attacks that resulted in fires and loss of engine power. A European warship later rescued her 25 crew members.

In an advisory on Friday, UK Maritime Trade said it had received reports of three fires on the ship, which “appears to be drifting”. Later in the day, the Houthis posted a video on social media purportedly showing them setting fire to the tanker.

EU Red Sea naval mission Aspides said the damaged tanker was carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil and posed an environmental hazard.

“A potential spill could have catastrophic consequences for the region's marine environment,” the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority said in a post on social media site X on Friday.

According to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, the largest ship spill in history occurred in 1979, when the Atlantic Queen was caught in a storm in the Caribbean off the coast of Tobago and collided with another crude oil carrier. Resulting in the spill of approximately 287,000 tons of oil.

The Sounion is the third ship operated by Athens-based Delta Tankers to be attacked by the Houthis this month.

The Houthis said they attacked the tanker in part because Delta Tankers violated a ban “on entering occupied Palestinian ports,” Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarri said in a televised speech.

“Delta Tankers is making every effort to move the vessel (and cargo). For safety reasons, we are unable to comment further,” the company said in a statement on Friday.