Houthis prevent access to leaking oil tanker

A Greek-flagged tanker carrying around a million barrels of crude oil struck by the Houthis in the Red Sea is still on fire and appears to be leaking, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

Sounion had left Iraq and was heading for a port near Athen, the European Union’s Red Sea naval mission previously said.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that a third party tried to send ships to help the Sounion. But the Iran-backed Houthis threatened to attack the two tugs and warned them to stay away, Ryder said.

The Houthis said they attacked the ship because they claimed, without any evidence, it had ties to Israel.

“These are simply reckless acts of terrorism which continue to destabilize global and regional commerce, put the lives of innocent civilian mariners at risk and imperil the vibrant maritime ecosystem in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Houthis’ own backyard,” Ryder said.

The Sounion was the third vessel operated by Athens-based Delta Tankers to be attacked in the Red Sea this month. The attack caused a fire onboard, which the crew extinguished, Delta Tankers said in a statement.