Tanker adrift after multiple attacks in Red Sea, UK maritime agency says

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By Jana Choukeir and Renee Maltezou

DUBAI (Reuters) -A Greek-flagged tanker was adrift in the Red Sea on Wednesday after repeated attacks that started a fire on the vessel and caused the ship to lose power, the UK maritime agency said.

Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas. Houthi militants, though, have so far not claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attacks.

Passengers on two small boats attacked the Sounion, hitting it with multiple projectiles about 77 nautical miles west of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday morning, the Greek shipping ministry and the UK Maritime Trade Operations said.

There was a brief exchange of small arms fire during the incident, the UKMTO said. In a later update, the UKMTO said the ship reported another attack that caused the fire and led the vessel to lose engine power and its ability to manoeuvre.

There were no reports of injuries among the 25 crew members, made up of two Russians and 23 Filipinos.

Delta Tankers, the ship’s operator, confirmed the ship was adrift and had sustained minor damage. The crew were assessing the situation and the ship would proceed on its journey, it said in a statement.

Sounion is the third Delta Tanker-operated ship targeted by the Houthis. The militants earlier this month attacked the Liberia-flagged Delta Atlantica and Delta Blue tanker ships in separate attacks.

Also on Wednesday, the captain of a different cargo ship sailing off the coast of Aden reported a total of five explosions in nearby waters, UKMTO said, later identifying the vessel as the SW North Wind I. The crew and the ship were unharmed in the attacks.

The U.S.-based owner and manager of the Panama-flagged SW North Wind I did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Houthis’ months-long campaign against commercial shipping has continued despite retaliatory strikes by Britain and the United States, which have shot down drones and bombed attack sites in Yemen.

The assaults have forced ship owners to reroute vessels away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to the longer route around the southern tip of Africa, cascading costs and delays through global supply chains.

The Houthi attacks have sunk two ships and killed at least three crew members. The Houthis have said the attacks will not stop until Israel stops its “aggression” in Gaza.

(Reporting by Jana Choukeir, Clauda Tanios, Ahmed Elimam in Dubai and Yannis Souliotis, Renee Maltezou in Athens, Yomna Ehab in Cairo and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Writing by Tala Ramadan; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Cynthia Osterman and Tom Hogue)