EU mission in Red Sea says no oil leaked from tanker damaged in Houthi attack

The European Union mission in the Red Sea announced on Wednesday that there was no oil spill in the waters near the Greek-flagged tanker hit by a fiery attack by Houthi militants off the coast of Yemen.

The mission, called Aspides, added that the Sounion was still anchored and not adrift.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ship was leaking an unidentified substance.

The Houthis say tugboats can tow the stricken tanker under attack in the Red Sea

The Pentagon said Tuesday that the tanker was still burning in the Red Sea and appeared to be leaking oil.

Reuters could not independently confirm that a leak had occurred.

The Iran-backed Houthis targeted the Sounion in several attacks near Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, at one point causing the ship to erupt in a ball of flames.

The attack raised alarm in the environmental community, as the Sounion carries 150,000 tonnes, or 1 million barrels, of crude oil.

A spill of this size would be one of the largest from a ship in history, threatening to destroy the fishing industry and regional ecosystems in the area, government officials have warned.

The Iran-aligned Houthis have launched more than 70 attacks on merchant ships over 10 months in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. These attacks sank two ships, killed at least three crew members and disrupted global trade, forcing ships to avoid the vital shortcut of the Suez Canal.

(Reporting by Jana Choukeir in Dubai, Lefteris Papadimas in Athens, Idrees Ali in Washington and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Mark Potter and Cynthia Osterman)

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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