Salvage Crews Scrap 1st Attempt to Recover Oil Tanker Damaged in Houthi Attack

Fires burn aboard the oil tanker Sounion in the Red Sea on Aug. 25, 2024. European Union's Operation Aspides via AP

Salvage teams have given up on an initial effort to recover the oil tanker MV Sounion, which was abandoned after an attack by Houthi rebel forces in Yemen.

Houthi forces boarded the Greek-flagged oil tanker and set off explosives aboard the vessel on Aug. 21, forcing the crew to abandon ship and setting off concerns about a potentially massive oil spill in the Red Sea.

A European Union coalition of naval forces, known as Operation Aspides, had partnered with private salvage crews in an initial effort to remove the damaged Sounion from the Red Sea. Now the organizers of the recovery effort are considering a different approach.

“The private companies responsible for the salvage operation have concluded that the conditions were not met to conduct the towing operation and that it was not safe to proceed,” Operation Aspides leaders announced in a Sept. 3 statement. “Alternative solutions are now being explored by the private companies.”

The EU naval coalition stated that it would remain focused on its broader mission to ensure freedom of navigation and protect vessels transiting the Red Sea shipping lanes.

Operation Aspides officials did not specify what challenges hindered the recovery of the damaged oil tanker.

The Epoch Times reached out to the EU-led naval coalition for more details but did not receive a response by publication time.

Operation Aspides published photos on Sept. 2 indicating that several fires continued to burn across the vessel’s main deck. These fires could raise the risks for salvage crews approaching the vessel, which was carrying about 1 million barrels of oil when the Houthis initially attacked on Aug. 21.

Salvage crews may also be reluctant to venture within range of Houthi missiles and drones.

The Houthis, a predominantly Shia faction, maintain de facto control over large areas of Yemen overlooking the Red Sea following years of fighting with the U.S.-backed Yemeni regime. Since October 2023, the rebel faction has turned its attention toward the ongoing Israel–Hamas conflict and has targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea that it claims are linked to Israel. The U.S. government has designated the Houthis as a terrorist group.

The U.S. Central Command reported that Houthi forces targeted two more oil tankers in drone and missile attacks on Sept. 2: the Panama-flagged MV Blue Lagoon I and the Saudi-flagged MV Amjad.

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