Mariners rescued from oil tanker attacked by Houthi terrorists

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A French destroyer rescued 29 mariners from an oil tanker that came under repeated attack in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi terrorists, officials said Thursday, while also destroying a bomb-carrying drone boat in the area.

The assault on the Sounion, the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks, comes during a monthslong campaign by the Houthis targeting ships over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that has disrupted a trade route through which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year.

The Sounion is now at anchor in the Red Sea and no longer drifting, the European Union’s Operation Aspides said. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, who have been taken to nearby Djibouti, the EU mission in the Red Sea said.

The Sounion has 150,000 tons of crude oil aboard and represents a “navigational and environmental hazard,” the mission warned. “It is essential that everyone in the area exercises caution and refrains from any actions that could lead to a deterioration of the current situation.”

The Sounion had not asked for an escort prior to the attacks, the EU mission said.

The French military separately released an image of the Sounion, showing the blaze on board had been extinguished. It also published an image of its fire targeting the drone boat.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack in a pre-recorded statement late Thursday night, as well as another attempted attack Wednesday.

U.S. airstrikes in Hodeida meanwhile destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile and radar system Wednesday, the American military’s Central Command said.