The operations to extinguish the eighteen fire hotspots that were burning on the Greek-flagged tanker Sounion were successfully completed on Sunday, October 6th.
Sources from the Greek Ministry of Shipping reported to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency that the extinguishing operation was carried out by a specialized rescue team of twenty-seven individuals, with the support of the rescue vessel AIGAION PELAGOS.
As informed, the tanker is already being towed by the rescue vessel towards Suez, where the transfer of the 150,000 tons of Iraqi crude oil it was carrying to another tanker is expected to take place.
🇬🇷MV Sounion🇬🇷
After being attacked by the Houthis on 21 & 23 August, it would appear that the fire has finally been extinguishedSentinel 2📷 (7 October 2024) shows no more smoke billowing and no more hotspots visible on the deck of the vessel pic.twitter.com/vwcd5yTx5B
— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) October 7, 2024
The Sounion was initially targeted by gunfire from two small boats that approached it approximately 77 nautical miles (143 km) west of Yemen’s port of Hudaydah on August 21st. Later, the vessel was hit by three unidentified projectiles, causing a fire onboard and disabling its engine power. There were no reported injuries among the twenty-five crew members.
On 2nd September, the European Union’s mission in the Red Sea, Aspides, announced that the salvage operation for the oil tanker MV Sounion, which was later postponed due to security concerns and commenced again on 15 September.
