Oil tanker on fire and adrift in Red Sea after multiple attacks

HUDAYDAH : A Greek-owned and flagged oil tanker is on fire and adrift in the Red Sea after a series of attacks, British and Greek authorities say.

The oil tanker MV Sounion was first hit by gunfire from two small boats which approached it early on Wednesday about 77 nautical miles (143km) west of the Yemeni port of Hudaydah, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office.

Later, the ship was struck by three unidentified projectiles, which sparked a fire onboard and left it without engine power, it said. There were no reports of injuries among its 25 crew.

No group has yet said it was behind the attacks, which Greece’s minister of maritime affairs condemned as a flagrant violation of international law.

However, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement has repeatedly targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November.

The Houthis say they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They have claimed – often falsely – that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK.

They have not been deterred by the deployment of Western warships to protect merchant vessels or by US and British air strikes on territory they control in north-western Yemen. Israel also bombed Hudaydah’s port last month in retaliation for a deadly drone strike on Tel Aviv.

The Sounion, which is a 274m-long and 50m-wide “Suezmax” tanker, was carrying crude oil from the Iraqi port of Basra when it was attacked.

The vessel’s Greek operator, Delta Tankers, said it had sustained “minor” damage and that its crew was assessing the situation before continuing its onward journey.

Also on Wednesday, the Panama-flagged cargo vessel SW North Wind I reported three explosions in the water nearby as it sailed through the Gulf of Aden, the UKMTO said.

It added that the crew was safe following the incidents, which happened 57 nautical miles south of the Yemeni city of Aden, and the vessel was proceeding to the next port of call.

In June, the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned cargo ship Tutor sank and one crew member was killed after the Houthis attacked it with a sea drone in the Red Sea.