Attacks on the Sounion

The attacks on the MT Sounion refers to Houthi attacks on a Greek-registered oil tanker that was carrying approximately 150,000 tons of petroleum cargo, and the resulting spillage of crude oil into the Red Sea. The oil spill was caused by Houthi explosions targeting the ship, which caused the ship to burn and start spilling flaming crude oil into the ocean, which the European Union Aspides military task force described as posing a severe environmental risk to the complex biodiversity of the marine region.

Background

MT Sounion

MT Sounion is a crude oil tanker built in November 2006 by the South Korea-based shipbuilder HD Hyundai Samho. Greek-flagged, the ship is registered in Piraeus. She is operated by the Athens-based Delta Tankers, whose ships Delta Blue and Delta Atlantica had previously come under attack by the Houthis.

Attack

On 21 August 2024, the 274-meter (898 ft 11 in)-long oil tanker Sounion, owned by Delta Tankers and crewed by 25 Filipinos and Russians, with four security personnel, was targeted by Houthi militants while near the mouth of the Red Sea. Two Houthi fast attack craft engaged in a firefight with the Sounion's armed guards before three projectiles struck the tanker. The initial attack caused a fire on board that was extinguished, but also resulted in engine failure and the loss of propulsion. The tanker was en route from Basrah, Iraq to the oil refinery at Agioi Theodoroi in Greece. The entire crew was rescued by the European Union Aspides naval military operation while the ship was drifting about 77 nautical miles (143 km; 89 mi) to the west of Al Hudaydah port, using the French frigate Chevalier Paul to evacuate the crew to nearby Djibouti on 22 August 2024.