Officials said on Thursday that a French destroyer rescued 29 sailors from an oil tanker that was repeatedly attacked in the Red Sea by the Houthis in Yemen, and also destroyed a bomb-laden drone boat in the area.
The attack on the ship, which the Greek Shipping Ministry identified as “Sunion”, is the most serious attack in the Red Sea in weeks, during a campaign launched by the Houthis for several months against ships due to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which led to the disruption of a trade route through which goods valued at about a trillion dollars annually usually pass.
French officials said that the destroyer was able to neutralize a bomb-laden boat in the area.
The tanker Sunion was reportedly floating on the water after being attacked several times, but is now anchored in the Red Sea under the EU’s Aspides operation, although it is not yet clear whether the ship is still on fire.
The EU Red Sea Mission said the ship had a crew of 25 Filipinos and a Russian, as well as four private security
personnel, and had been transferred to nearby Djibouti.
The mission warned that the Sunion, carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, posed a ‘navigational and environmental risk’.
‘It is imperative that everyone in the area exercise caution and refrain from any actions that could worsen the current situation,’ the mission added.
Earlier, the British military reported that the tanker had been attacked repeatedly, and the EU Red Sea Mission also declared the tanker a navigational and environmental risk.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency