Greek tanker in Red Sea still on fire three days after Houthi attack

The Greek-flagged ship Sounion has been on fire since August 23 after an attack by Yemen’s Houthis with no obvious signs of an oil spill, EU Red Sea naval mission Aspides says in a post on X.

The EU mission publishes photos dated Sunday showing fire and smoke coming out of the vessel’s main deck.

Update on M/V SOUNION:

The MV SOUNION has been on fire since August 23rd.

An EUNAFOR ASPIDES ???????? unit transiting the area reported that there are fires on at least 5 locations observed on the main deck of the vessel. It is estimated that these are located around the hatches of… pic.twitter.com/ta0IuLhIoY

— EUNAVFOR ASPIDES (@EUNAVFORASPIDES) August 26, 2024

The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous regions, said on Thursday that they attacked the Sounion oil tanker in the Red Sea.

Fires were observed on at least five locations on the main deck of the vessel, Aspides said. Part of the superstructure is also on fire.

Satellite image captured by European Space Agency’s Copernicus Satellite 2 showed smoke visible at sea in the vicinity where Sounion was last detected.

Reuters was able to locate the image from matching the last location for MV Sounion seen from LSEG ship tracker.

Aspides said on Thursday that the oil tanker carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil poses an environmental hazard.