Aerial view of a ship at sea.
Suryaporn Tromsavang | Moment | Getty Images
A Greek-flagged oil tanker was abandoned, The ship drifted in the Red Sea and caught fire after it was attacked off the coast of Yemen.
UK Maritime Trade Operators Wednesday report A fire breaks out on an oil tanker, the engine loses power and is no longer in “command”. Previously, two small boats were shot at about 77 nautical miles west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, which is controlled by the Houthi armed group. UKMTO did not name the vessel or perpetrators of the incident.
Greek Shipping Minister Christos Stylianides later named the tanker Sounion and condemned the attack as a “blatant violation of the rules of international law and a serious threat to the safety of international navigation.” According to a statement from Google Translate.
The minister added that all 25 crew members on board were safe.
The vessel is part of the fleet of Greek operator Delta Tankers, which confirmed in an emailed statement that the Sounion suffered “minor damage” after being involved in a “hostile incident” in the Red Sea.
The company later issued a statement saying that the captain and crew of the “Sounion” had evacuated the ship and received naval support. Separately, Reuters reported that the crew was rescued by EU Naval Mission Aspides, which confirmed the rescue operation in social media posts.
“While approaching the area, the EUNAVFOR ASPIDES vessel destroyed an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV), which posed an imminent threat to the vessel and crew. All personnel on board the MV SOUNION were subsequently rescued and transported to the nearest safe Port Djibouti calls,” Aspid Mission said.
“Plans are in place to move the vessel to a safer destination where a full assessment (inspection and any repairs) can be carried out,” Delta Tankers said.
According to MarineTraffic data, the “Sounion” last docked at the Basra crude oil loading terminal in Iraq. The Aspides mission said the Sounion, which is carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, could now cause “navigational and environmental hazards” and could cause harm in the event of an oil spill.
“Everyone in the region must remain cautious and refrain from taking any actions that could worsen the current situation,” the statement read.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack, although the Houthi faction has carried out a series of similar attacks on commercial ships citing solidarity with the Palestinian cause amid Israel's ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
The Yemeni group has previously claimed to only directly target ships owned by or linked to Israel, the United States or Britain, but has repeatedly attacked ships not affiliated with those countries.
The Houthi offensive has so far sunk at least two ships, disrupting a key trade route linking Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, with some ships choosing the longer Cape Horn route that could add up to 14 days to the voyage. time.
The disruptions did not lead to a pause in westbound shipping from the oil-rich Middle East or a long-term premium in oil futures prices.