Fires burn on Houthi-Hit tanker but not yet out, EU says

Fires were burning around the oil tanks of a ship that was attacked by Houthi militants in the Red Sea, but so far there were no signs of a leak, the European Union’s naval force in the region said.

Flames were seen in at least five locations on the Sounion tanker after several attacks last week, according to EUNAVFOR Aspides. Images posted on X show flames coming from the ship’s main holds where the oil is stored, as well as around the ship’s bridge. The navy said the ship was an “imminent environmental hazard”.

Update on M/V SOUNION:
MV SOUNION caught fire on August 23.
A EUNAPHOR ASPIDES 🇪🇺 unit transiting the area reported fires in at least 5 locations observed on the ship’s main deck. They are estimated to be located around the hatches of… pic.twitter.com/ta0IuLhIoY

— EUNAVFOR ASPIDES (@EUNAVFORASPIDES) August 26, 2024

The agency had earlier warned of an environmental disaster due to the large volume of oil on board. There is a threat of the ship spilling “a million barrels of oil into the Red Sea, four times the amount of the Exxon Valdez disaster,” the US State Department said in a separate statement over the weekend.

The Sounion was hit by missiles on August 21 after rounding the Yemeni coast to enter the Red Sea. The tanker, which can carry about 1 million barrels of crude oil, called at Iraq’s Basrah oil terminal. Since Monday, the ship has remained anchored in international waters, according to EUNAVFOR Aspides.

Yemen’s Houthi militants have plagued areas in and around the Red Sea with missile and drone attacks since November, forcing the vast majority of ships to take the longer route around Africa instead. The rebels said they would continue to attack merchant ships to protest Israel’s war with Hamas.

The crew of the Sounion was evacuated on August 22, and a French naval destroyer involved in the operation destroyed several missiles fired from Houthi-controlled territories. After the evacuation, the Sounion was attacked again on August 23, causing the fires that are now burning on the ship.

Photo: In this screenshot released by the Houthi media center, fires can be seen aboard the Sunion in the Red Sea on August 23, 2024. Photo credit: Houthi Media Center/Getty Images

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