Tanker hit by Yemen rebels that threatened Red Sea spill has been salvaged

Flames and smoke rising from the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which was on fire since August 23, after an attack by Houthi militants, on the Red Sea. (Courtesy: Reuters file photo)

An oil tanker that burned for weeks in the Red Sea and threatened a massive oil spill has been “successfully” salvaged, a security firm said Friday.

The Sounion had been a disaster in waiting in the waterway, with 1 million barrels of crude oil aboard that had been struck and later sabotaged with explosives by Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. It took months for salvagers to tow the vessel away, extinguish the fires and offload the remaining crude oil.

The Houthis initially attacked the Greek-flagged Sounion tanker on August 21 with small arms fire, projectiles and a drone boat. A French destroyer operating as part of Operation Aspides rescued its crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, after they abandoned the vessel and took them to nearby Djibouti.

The Houthis later released footage showing they planted explosives on board the Sounion and ignited them in a propaganda video, something the rebels have done before in their campaign.

The Houthis have targeted some 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October 2023. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have included Western military vessels as well.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.