Iran's mission to the United Nations said on Wednesday that the Houthis in Yemen had agreed to a temporary truce to allow rescue boats and ships to reach the damaged oil tanker in the Red Sea, Sounion, flying a Greek flag. The Iranian mission added that several countries "contacted to ask the Houthi group for a temporary truce so that rescue boats and ships could enter the accident area." She continued: "Taking into account humanitarian and environmental concerns, Ansar Allah (the Houthis) agreed to this request."

The European Union Naval Mission in the Red Sea (ASPEDS) said via the The mission stated that there are no clear indications yet of an oil leak. The mission published pictures dated yesterday, Sunday, showing flames and smoke rising from the deck of the ship.

Shipping officials said that the ship Sounion carries 150,000 tons of crude oil and poses an environmental danger. Aspedes said that part of the upper area of ​​the ship Sounion was engulfed in flames, which were seen in at least five locations on the main board of the ship. If an oil spill occurs, it will likely be among the largest oil spills to occur on a ship in recorded history.

Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, said in a post on LinkedIn: “The ship is carrying more than a million barrels of oil.” He added that the risk of exposure to Houthi attacks will exacerbate the difficulty of deploying ships to reduce risks and clean up in the event of a leak. Sonion is the third Delta Tankers ship to be attacked by the Houthis this month. The Yemeni group said that Delta Tankers violated a ban they imposed on entry to the ports of "occupied Palestine."

Since last November, the Houthis have been launching attacks on ships belonging to or linked to the Israeli occupation, in a move they said came in “solidarity with Gaza,” which has been facing a devastating Israeli war with American support since last October. The Houthis target ships in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean with missiles and drones.

Since January 2024, a US-led coalition has launched raids that it says target “Houthi sites” in various regions of Yemen in response to their naval attacks, which has been met with a response from the group from time to time. In its latest operations, the Houthi group announced, last Tuesday evening, that it had targeted, with missiles and drones, three ships in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, including an American ship, an Israeli ship, and an unidentified third that “violated the ban on access to Israeli ports.”

(Reuters, Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed)