Salvagers abandoned an initial effort to tow away a burning oil tanker in the Red Sea which was targeted by Yemen’s Houthi rebels as it “was not safe to proceed,” a European Union naval mission said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.
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 burning in the Red Sea after their attack.
The Pentagon then warned that the Sounion is still on fire and may be leaking oil, adding that attempts to salvage it have been thwarted by the Houthis, who have threatened more attacks.
Last week, the Houthis agreed to allow tugboats and rescue ships to reach the damaged Sounion in the Red Sea, but that mission has now been abandoned.
“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,” the EU’s Operation Aspides mission said on Tuesday, without elaborating. “Alternative solutions are now being explored by the private companies.”
The US State Department has warned a spill from the Sounion could be “four times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster” in 1989 off Alaska.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have upped their attacks in the region since the start of the war in Gaza, having launched drones towards southern Israel and targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea region.
In the wake of the uptick in Houthi attacks, the US formed a coalition, made up of more than 20 countries, aimed at safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthis.
In mid-January, with support from other countries, the US and Britain targeted just under 30 Houthi locations with 150 different weapons. They have since carried out several rounds of strikes against Houthi targets.
The Houthis have been unfazed by the strikes, saying that the campaign against the "Zionist enemy" will continue and that the attacks against the American and British ships will not stop.