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Greek-flagged ship on fire since Aug 23 after Houthi attack

Fires observed on at least five locations on the main deck of the vessel and part of the superstructure

Published: Mon 26 Aug 2024, 4:01 PM

Updated: Mon 26 Aug 2024, 4:02 PM

  • By
  • Reuters

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Flames and smoke rise from the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which has been on fire since August 23, on the Red Sea, on August 25, 2024. — Reuters

Flames and smoke rise from the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which has been on fire since August 23, on the Red Sea, on August 25, 2024. — Reuters

The Greek-flagged ship Sounion has been on fire since August 23 after an attack by Yemen's Houthis with no obvious signs of an oil spill, EU Red Sea naval mission Aspides said in a post on X on Monday.

The EU mission published photos dated Sunday showing fire and smoke coming out of the vessel's main deck.


Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous regions, said on Thursday that they attacked the Sounion oil tanker in the Red Sea. The Iran-aligned group has been attacking ships in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Fires were observed on at least five locations on the main deck of the vessel, Aspides said. Additionally, part of the superstructure is on fire too.

Satellite image captured by European Space Agency’s Copernicus Satellite 2 showed smoke visible at sea in the vicinity where Sounion was last detected.

Reuters was able to locate the image from matching the last location for MV Sounion seen from LSEG ship tracker.

Aspides said on Thursday that the oil tanker carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil poses an environmental hazard.



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