Cairo (South24 Center)

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The Greek-registered oil tanker ’Sounion‘, which was attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea in August last year, has been successfully towed through Egypt’s Suez Canal, the Suez Canal Authority announced on Monday (March 10). 

The Houthis attacked the tanker using anti-ship missiles, causing severe damage to the vessel’s control room, machinery, and control systems, incapacitating it. At the time, the ‘Sounion’ was carrying approximately one million barrels of crude oil.

Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, stated that the towing operation was carried out using four tugboats. The tanker passed through the canal as part of the southbound convoy, coming from the Red Sea and heading to Greece.

 

He added that preparations for the towing required complex procedures lasting several months, including unloading of the 150,000-ton crude oil cargo to avoid the risks of pollution, oil spills, or explosions.

According to the Suez Canal Authority, the unloading process was closely supervised by the Authority’s marine rescue team in cooperation with AMBERY and MEGA TUGS, the companies appointed by the tanker’s owners. Rabie explained that the operation required precise calculations to ensure the stability of the tanker’s hull during the transfer of its cargo to another similar vessel.

On August 21 last year, the Houthis attacked the ‘Sounion’ with anti-ship missiles, hitting its control system. Two days later, the Iran-backed Houthi militia boarded the ship and detonated explosives across the main decks and bridge, causing a massive fire in the control room, engine room, and living quarters, and disabling its control and navigation systems.

The ship’s crew of 25 was rescued at the time, but the extensive damage made it impossible for the tanker to sail. For months, the vessel remained a potential environmental disaster due to its crude oil cargo.

The attack on the ‘Sounion’ was part of a series of widespread attacks launched by the Houthis on dozens of ships attempting to cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait between November 2023 and January 2025, against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip.

One of these attacks, on February 18, 2024, led to the sinking of the British ship ‘Rubymar’ in the Red Sea on March 2. The vessel was carrying more than 41,000 tons of highly hazardous IMDG 5.1-class fertilizers, along with quantities of oils and fuel.