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Salvage Crews Abandon First Salvage Operation of Oil Tanker Damaged in Houthi Attack

September 4, 2024 TruthUSA

Salvage crews are still assessing the risks involved in retrieving the MV Sounion, left abandoned in the Red Sea following an attack by Houthi forces on August 21.

An initial attempt to recover the oil tanker MV Sounion, deserted after an assault by Houthi rebels in Yemen, has been discontinued by salvage teams.

A European Union coalition of naval forces, Operation Aspides, collaborated with private salvage crews in the first recovery effort to extract the damaged Sounion from the Red Sea. Presently, the organizers of the operation are contemplating a different strategy.

“The private companies tasked with the salvage operation have determined that the conditions were unsuitable to proceed with the towing operation and it was deemed unsafe to continue,” stated Operation Aspides leaders on September 3. “Alternative solutions are now being considered by the private companies.”

The EU naval coalition affirmed its commitment to ensuring freedom of navigation and safeguarding vessels using the Red Sea shipping lanes.

Operation Aspides officials did not elaborate on the obstacles that impeded the recovery of the damaged oil tanker.

The Epoch Times contacted the EU-led naval coalition for more information but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Operation Aspides posted photos on September 2 showing multiple fires still burning on the vessel’s main deck. These fires could heighten the risks for salvage crews approaching the vessel, which was loaded with approximately 1 million barrels of oil during the initial Houthi attack on August 21.

Salvage teams may also be hesitant to come within range of Houthi missiles and drones.

The Houthis, a primarily Shia group, maintain control over significant areas of Yemen along the Red Sea following years of conflict with the U.S.-backed Yemeni government. Since October 2023, the rebel faction has shifted focus to the ongoing Israel–Hamas conflict and has targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea that it alleges are associated with Israel. The U.S. government has labeled the Houthis as a terrorist group.

The U.S. Central Command reported Houthi forces targeting two additional oil tankers in drone and missile strikes on September 2: the Panama-flagged MV Blue Lagoon I and the Saudi-flagged MV Amjad.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Sare’e, a Houthi military spokesperson, claimed responsibility for the attack on the Blue Lagoon I in a statement on September 2. The Houthi representative did not address the reported attack on the Amjad.

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