A French destroyer rescued 29 sailors from a Greek-flagged commercial tanker on Thursday, military officials reported, although they did not disclose the ship’s name.
The French naval vessel was deployed as part of the European Union’s Operation Aspides, a “purely defensive” military initiative designed to counter the aggression of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, in contrast to the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian.
The tanker, Sounion, was transporting oil products in the Red Sea when it came under attack from suspected Houthi-aligned fighters. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center indicated that armed individuals in small boats opened fire about 140 kilometers (90 miles) west of the rebel-held port of Hodeida on Wednesday.
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The tanker reportedly caught fire, forcing the crew to abandon the ship; however, it has since anchored and is no longer drifting.
Manned primarily by Filipino nationals and two Russians, the ship sustained three to four hits, although it remains unclear whether the projectiles were drones or missiles.
The Houthis typically claim responsibility for attacks hours or days later but had not confirmed their involvement by Thursday. Nonetheless, the group publicly acknowledged US airstrikes on surface-to-air missile and radar systems in Hodeida.
The Tehran-backed rebels have launched over 80 attacks in response to the war in Gaza. The campaign allegedly targets vessels with ties to Israel and the West, such as the US and UK. However, many of the targeted vessels have not been connected to the war or its belligerents at all, with some even en route to Iran, the group’s main benefactor.