A source in the Greek Ministry of Defense reported that an operation had begun to tow an oil tanker that was attacked by the Houthis last August, and which posed an environmental threat.
The source told Agence France-Presse that the tanker, “Sounion,” which flies the Greek flag, was evacuated of its crew after Targeted, it is being towed north under military guard.
The ship was attacked last month by the Houthis off the coast of Hodeidah while carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil.
The source reported that the tugboat “Eon Pelagos” began to gradually tow the tanker towards North,” adding that the ships’ radars were turned off for security reasons.
The European “ASPEDS” mission deployed in the region had previously announced that the Qatar “Sounion” “is necessary to avoid a possible environmental catastrophe in the region,” adding that “to achieve this, A large number of government and private agencies are working together.”
The “Sounion” was subjected to a missile attack off the coast of Hodeidah on August 21, which posed the threat of an oil leak estimated at four times the leak from the “Exxon Valdez” tanker in 1989 off the coast of Alaska.
The Sonion crew, 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was evacuated the next day by a French frigate from the European mission.