A salvage operation has been initiated for an oil tanker that was attacked and set on fire by the Houthi movement in the Red Sea.
The Greek-flagged vessel Sounion was attacked by the Iran-backed militant movement off the coast of Yemen and the city of al-Hudaydah (Hodeidah) at the end of August. The vessel had 150,000 tons of crude oil in its cargo at the time of the attack. The EU's military operation in the Red Sea, Aspides, warned that an oil spill would be a catastrophe.
The Houthi movement initially refused to allow a salvage operation, but later agreed to a temporary ceasefire.
The vessel is being towed northwards in the Red Sea on Saturday, accompanied by military vessels according to the Greek Ministry of Defense. Sounion was originally on its way from Iraq to a port near Athens in Greece.
The Houthi movement has attacked military and civilian vessels in the Red Sea, in "solidarity with the inhabitants of Gaza" according to the movement's statements.
