France rescues 29 crewmembers of oil tanker attacked in Red Sea

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A French destroyer rescued 29 mariners from an oil tanker that came under repeated attack in the Red Sea, officials say, while also destroying a bomb-carrying drone boat in the area.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels are suspected to have carried out the assault on the Sounion. The attack, the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks, comes during a months-long campaign by Houthis that has disrupted a trade route through which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year. The Houthis say their attacks aim to support Gaza during the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group there.

The Sounion is now at anchor in the Red Sea and no longer drifting, the European Union’s Operation Aspides says. However, it wasn’t clear if the vessel was still ablaze. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of Filipinos and Russians.

Military officials did not name the French destroyer involved in the rescue.

In the attack yesterday, men on small boats first opened fire with small arms about 140 kilometers (90 miles) west of the rebel-held Yemeni port city of Hodeida, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.

Four projectiles also hit the ship, it added. It wasn’t immediately clear if that meant drones or missiles.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks, though it can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge their assaults. However, they did acknowledge US airstrikes in Hodeida that the American military’s Central Command said destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile and radar system.

Times of Israel staff contributed.