A Greek oil tanker exploded in huge flames after the latest Red Sea attack from Yemen’s Houthi militants.
Late last night, the militants released shocking footage of the moment the massive explosions ripped through the ship, named Sounion.
As the ship erupts into a blaze, the video captures the Houthi fighters on the water in the distance chanting the group’s slogan: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”
An analysis of the video from Reuters found that there were three simultaneous explosions on the deck of the Sounion, which suggests planted explosives, rather than a strike by missile or drone.
The ship was first ground to a halt in the Red Sea shipping channel on Wednesday after gunfire from more than a dozen people on two small boats that approached it 77 nautical miles west of the Yemeni port of Hudaydah, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office.
On Thursday, the European Union’s Red Sea naval mission said it responded to a request from the shipping company.
The EU naval mission deployed a French destroyer to rescue the onboard crew of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, and take them to nearby Djibouti.
There are growing fears over the oil tanker, which was carrying 150,000 metric tons of crude oil.
The ship, which was on its way from Iraq to a port near Athens, is currently adrift in the Red Sea and without engine power.
The EU’s Red Sea naval mission Aspides has said it poses “a navigational and environmental hazard”.
The Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority echoed this, saying on X: “A potential spill could lead to disastrous consequences for the region’s marine environment.”
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement has repeatedly targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in solidarity with Palestinians over the war in Gaza. More than 80 vessels have been targeted to date.
The attacks have prompted many ship owners to avoid the Red Sea region and send their vessels on lengthier and more costly routes around the southern tip of Africa.
The Red Sea route typically sees almost a trillion pounds worth of goods pass through it every year.