Oil tanker attacked by Houthi rebels burning in Red Sea salvaged, says security firm

An oil tanker that burned for weeks in the Red Sea after being attacked by Houthi rebels in Yemen and threatening a massive oil spill has been salvaged, a security firm has said.

The MV Sounion tanker carrying one million barrels of crude oil had been a disaster-in-waiting in the key waterway after being struck and later sabotaged with explosives by the Houthis as part of their solidarity campaign with Hamas over the war in Gaza.

It took months for salvagers to tow the Sounion away, extinguish the fires and offload the remaining crude oil.

"Over three challenging weeks, the fires were extinguished, cargo tanks patched and pressurised with inert gas, and the vessel declared safe," said private security firm Ambrey, which helped lead the response alongside a European naval force and salvagers.

"In early October, she was towed north to Suez for removal of her cargo, which has now been successfully completed."

The US State Department had warned that a spill from the Sounion would have been "four times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster" in 1989 off Alaska.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis, who have held Yemen's capital Sanaa for over a decade and have been battling a Saudi-led coalition backing the country's exiled government.

The Houthis initially attacked the Greek-flagged tanker on 21 August with small arms fire, projectiles and a drone boat.

A French destroyer operating as part of the European Union's Operation Aspides rescued its crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, after they abandoned the vessel and took them to nearby Djibouti.

The Houthis later released footage showing they planted explosives on board the vessel and ignited them in a propaganda video, something the rebels have done before.

The rebels have targeted some 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October 2023.

They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors.

Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The tempo of Houthi attacks has slowed in recent weeks, particularly involving ships at sea.

However, they have continued to launch drones and missiles targeting Israel.

Separately on Friday, Israel's military said it again struck what it called Houthi military infrastructure in Yemen, including the Hizaz power station and the Hodeidah and Ras Isa ports on the west coast.

Houthi-controlled media reported one worker dead and six other people injured at the Ras Isa port, a day after the Iranian-backed Houthis fired drones at Israel.