Greece to tow stricken oil tanker hit by Yemeni rebels
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
Greece’s coastguard on Thursday said that it would soon begin towing an oil tanker abandoned near Yemen after it was struck by Huthi rebels protesting Israel’s attacks against Hamas militants in Gaza.
The Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion was hit by missiles off the coast of Hodeida on August 21 while carrying 150,000 metric tons of crude oil.
Damage to the vessel had threatened a Red Sea oil spill four times the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.
“Two tugboats have left the port of Piraeus and are now near the Sounion,” escorted by a Greek and a French warship, the Greek coastguard said.
The Sounion’s crew, made up of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was rescued the day after the attack by a French frigate serving with the European Union’s Red Sea naval mission, Aspides.
The EU naval force was formed in February to protect merchant vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by the Huthi rebels, who have waged a campaign against international shipping that they say is intended to show solidarity with Hamas in its war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Since November, the Huthi attacks have resulted in the sinkings of two ships and the deaths of at least four crew members.
Source: AFP
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