The European Union's "ASPEDS" mission announced that the rescue of the oil tanker, which is still burning after being attacked by Houthi rebels off Yemen, "is about to begin."

On August 21, the ship "Sounion", flying the Greek flag, was attacked by the Houthi rebels, which, according to the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority (UKMTO), led to a fire breaking out on board and its engine breaking down.

The Houthis announced that they had booby-trapped and then exploded the "Sunion" oil tanker, which they had previously attacked in the Red Sea, causing several fires to break out on board before "allowing" it to be rescued.

The European "ASPEDS" mission in the Red Sea reported on its account on the X platform that the operation, which includes private companies, "is about to begin."

She added that the mission “will ensure the protection of the tugboats that will carry out the rescue operation and will facilitate their efforts to prevent an environmental disaster” in the Red Sea.

She continued, "There are still several fires burning on the main deck of the ship," but there is currently "no clear sign of an oil leak."

The crew of the ship "Sounion", consisting of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was evacuated the day after the attack by a French frigate participating in the European mission.

The ASPEDS mission was launched in February to protect commercial ships from Houthi attacks.

The ship Sounion during fire

Since November, the Houthi rebels have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, in what they consider to be support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in light of the ongoing war since October 7 between the Israeli army and Hamas.

The Houthi attacks affected shipping traffic in the strategic region through which 12% of global trade passes, which prompted the United States to form an international maritime coalition and strike Houthi targets in Yemen, and Britain participated in some of the strikes.

The Aspids' mission is purely defensive and is allowed to fire to defend ships or defend themselves.

The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority said that two more ships were hit yesterday, Monday, in attacks off the coast of Yemen.

At dawn on Tuesday, the US military command in the Middle East (Centcom) announced that these two ships were oil tankers, one of them Saudi and the other flying the Panama flag and operated by Greece.

Centcom said that the Houthis attacked “the ship MV Blue Lagoon, which flies the Panama flag and is operated by Greece, and the ship MV Amjad, which flies the flag of Saudi Arabia, is owned and operated.”

She added that the rebels bombed the two ships “with two ballistic missiles and a drone, which led to the injury of both of them.”

The ship Sounion during fire

According to the statement, “The ship MV Amjad carries approximately two million barrels of oil, which is nearly double the amount on board the Greek ship MV Delta Sounion, which was targeted by the Houthis on August 21.”

Centcom confirmed in its statement that “rescue efforts are currently underway in the southern Red Sea for the disabled ship MV Delta Sounion, which is still burning and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster.”

Centcom warned in its statement that “these reckless terrorist acts committed by the Houthis continue to destabilize regional and global trade, as well as endanger the lives of civilian seafarers and marine ecosystems.”

In a separate statement, Centcom said that during the past 24 hours, it had destroyed “two missile systems in an area under the control of the Houthis in Yemen” after it became clear that they “posed an imminent threat to US forces, coalition forces, and commercial ships in the region.”