Pentagon: Oil tanker attacked by Houthi in Red Sea appears to be leaking

An oil tanker that was attacked by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea on August 21 appears to be on fire and has a leak, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday.

“Sounion is currently immobilized in the Red Sea, where it is currently burning and appears to be leaking oil, posing both a navigational hazard and an environmental disaster,” Major General Patrick Ryder said in a press conference.

The ship belongs to the Greek shipping company Delta Tankers and flies the same flag. It was transporting around one million barrels of crude oil from Iraq to Greece. The crew was evacuated one day after the attack.

EU: Oil tanker attacked by Houthi on fire, but no oil spill yet

The Pentagon’s statement is the first official mention of a possible leak after European Union naval forces stationed in the region said earlier this week there were no obvious signs of an oil spill.

Commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea have been a regular target of the Houthis since last year, when the Iran-backed militants stepped up their retaliation against Israel’s activities in Gaza. Thousands of ships, from container ships to oil tankers, have chosen to avoid the area, taking a longer route around the African continent, creating more congestion at some transit ports such as Singapore.

Ryder said two third-party tugboats were sent to the burning Sounion ship to assist in the salvage, but the Houthis had been warned to hold them back. U.S. Central Command is actively monitoring the situation and coordinating with maritime partners on how best to assist the ship, he added.

Photo: Fires are seen on board the Sounion, a Greek-flagged oil tanker, in this screenshot released by the Houthi group’s media center on August 23, 2024. The Yemeni Houthi group claimed responsibility for an attack on the ship using a drone loaded with explosives in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Houthi Media Center via Getty Images)

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