The towing of an abandoned tanker that was struck by Yemen's Houthi rebels in August, sparking concerns about an environmental catastrophe, is progressing slowly, a Greek military source told the AFP news agency on Sunday.
The operation to tow the Greek-flagged tanker Sounion, which began on Saturday, "is proceeding at a very slow pace," the source stated, adding that the tanker was "initially headed north" but without specifying a destination.
The Houthis attacked the Sounion tanker in the Red Sea in late August, claiming the Greek-flagged tanker "belongs to a company that has ties with the Israeli enemy" and said it was "accurately and directly hit" with drones and missiles.
They later released video footage showing the oil tanker, which was carrying 150,000 metric tons of crude oil, burning in the Red Sea after their attack.
Damage to the vessel had threatened a Red Sea oil spill four times the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.
Later, the Houthis agreed to allow tugboats and rescue ships to reach the damaged Sounion in the Red Sea. That mission was subsequently abandoned after the EU’s naval mission determined that it “was not safe to proceed.
Late last week, Greece's coastguard announced it would begin towing the Sounion.
The operation is being monitored by the European Union's Red Sea naval mission, Aspides, which said on Sunday that the tanker was being towed to a "safe location."
"The salvage of the MV SOUNION is a complex operation and consists of various phases," the mission stated on X.
Aerial images released by Aspides showed the tanker being escorted by two warships, one of the photos dated Sunday, still showing smoke coming from the vessel.