Crew evacuated from Houthi-stricken oil tanker in Red Sea

The crew of a ship that suffered several attacks in the Red Sea has been evacuated with naval support. 

Delta Tankers, which operates the Sounion, said Thursday that plans are now in place to move the vessel to a safer destination where checks and repairs can be done. The ship came under attack on Wednesday and was then adrift after its engine lost power. 

Vessels have been regularly attacked in the Red Sea since Yemen’s Houthi militants began targeting merchant ships late last year in protest at Israel’s activities in Gaza. Wednesday’s incident was one of the most serious since the Houthis sank a vessel with a sea drone for the first time in June. 

The ship is carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, the European Union’s naval force in the region said in a post on X. The vessel now represents a navigational and environmental hazard, it added. 

Sounion loaded its cargo in Iraq earlier this month, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. 

The ship is not longer drifting and is now at anchor in the Red Sea, the Associated Press reported, citing the European Union’s military operation in the region. It said a French destroyer had rescued 29 mariners from the tanker.