Yemen’s Houthis seize Sounion vessel in Red Sea

Yemen’s Houthi group yesterday released footage showing its members seizing the Greek vessel Sounion, which was attacked on 21 August in the Red Sea.

The footage, shared by the Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree on X, depicts Houthi fighters boarding the ship, moving across its deck and facilities and setting fire to it.

مشاهد اقتحام وإحراق السفينة اليونانية (SOUNION) في البحر الأحمر والتي قامت الشركة المالكة لها بانتهاك قرار حظر الدخول إلى موانئ فلسطين المحتلة. pic.twitter.com/77vjwNQSkF

— أمين حيان Ameen Hayyan (@ameenhayan) August 29, 2024

In a speech delivered yesterday, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi said that two teams from the naval forces had stormed the vessel in two separate operations.

On 21 August, the Houthis attacked the Greek vessel in the Red Sea with missiles and drones, it is said to be carrying approximately 150,000 tonnes of crude oil. The attack resulted in fires breaking out on board, which continued to burn until yesterday.

The tanker was targeted in part because its owner, Delta Tankers, violated its ban on “entry to the ports of occupied Palestine,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree had said in a televised speech.

On Wednesday, the Houthi group announced that it had allowed the rescue of the Greek vessel following communications from international parties to avert an environmental disaster amidst fears of a widespread oil spill in the Red Sea.

The European Union’s Red Sea naval mission, Aspides, reported that it had detected multiple fires on the main deck of the Sounion. It confirmed that there was no oil spill and that the vessel remained anchored and was not drifting.

Since November, the Houthi group has been launching maritime attacks on Israel-linked vessels in response to the occupation state’s ongoing bombing of the Gaza Strip, which has been described as a genocide by UN officials.

Read: EU mission in Red Sea says no oil spill in area of ‘MV Sounion’