An operation to tow an abandoned tanker struck by Yemen's Houthi rebels in August, threatening environmental disaster, began Saturday and is ongoing, a Greek defense ministry source told AFP.
The Greek-flagged Sounion is being towed northwards under military escort, the source said.
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 abandoned last week after the EU’s naval mission determined that it “was not safe to proceed.
"(The tugboat) Aigaion Pelagos has begun to gradually tow the tanker northwards, escorted by military vessels," the defense source told AFP on Saturday, adding that the ships' radars had been turned off for security reasons.
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.
Meanwhile, reports on Saturday said that Egypt is preparing to host a delegation from Yemen's Houthi rebel group for talks.
According to Egyptian media reports, the diplomatic initiative is in coordination with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and aims to reduce security tensions in the Red Sea.