Lloyd’s List Reveals U.S. Sanctions Hindering the Rescue of “Sounion” Oil Tanker in the Red Sea, While “Aspides” Confirms Ongoing Fire

NYN | Reports and analyses

The British maritime insurance and shipping news magazine *Lloyd’s List* reported that U.S. sanctions are obstructing efforts to tow the burning “Sounion” oil tanker in the Red Sea, which the Sanaa government has permitted to be salvaged to prevent environmental damage.

In its report published on Thursday, the magazine stated that “the British insurance company (Brit), responsible for covering the fire on the Suezmax-type ship that caught fire in the Red Sea after being attacked by a Yemeni rebel faction, has contracted two tugboats to attempt to rescue the distressed ship, according to a source close to the Greek company Delta Tankers, the ship’s owners.”

The report noted that “Hercules and Gladiator are the only two tugboats in the region, both of which have previously handled incidents resulting from Houthi attacks on commercial ships.”

The magazine added that “the tugboats are subject to sanctions by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the rescue operation can only begin after receiving approval from the office, according to maritime insurance sources.”

The magazine quoted Martin Hall, a lawyer at Hill Dickinson and an expert in maritime salvage law, who said, “There is a precedent for this,” noting that “the OFAC tends to respond to reasonable requests.”

The magazine also mentioned that the Houthis have provided assurances not to attack the tugboats if the necessary permits are obtained.

Earlier, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the official spokesperson for the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement and head of the Sanaa negotiation delegation, stated that the burning “Sounion” oil tanker was allowed to be towed after several international parties, particularly European ones, communicated with the Sanaa government.

Abdul-Salam added in a tweet on his (X) platform account: “The burning of the Sounion oil tanker is a testament to Yemen’s seriousness in targeting any ship that violates the Yemeni ban on passing through ports in occupied Palestine, aimed at pressuring the Zionist entity to stop its aggression on Gaza.”

He also confirmed that “all maritime shipping companies linked to the Zionist enemy must understand that their ships will remain vulnerable to Yemeni strikes, wherever the Yemeni armed forces can reach them, until the aggression ceases and the blockade on Gaza is lifted.”

In a statement to *Reuters*, Abdul-Salam denied that allowing the Sounion ship to be towed signaled a temporary ceasefire in their operations, responding to reports suggesting that they agreed to a temporary truce in parallel with approving the towing of the Greek ship.

Abdul-Salam added: “The decision to allow the ship to be towed was made to avoid environmental damage.”

Last week, Sanaa forces announced targeting the ship due to the owner’s violation of the ban on accessing occupied Palestinian ports, later releasing footage of the ship’s burning. The ship is still ablaze, as confirmed by the European Union’s *Aspides* military mission, which reported no oil leaks.

The European naval mission stated in a post on its (X) platform on Thursday that “the Sounion ship has been burning since August 23, and assets operating in the area have confirmed there is no oil leak, and the ship remains anchored and is not drifting.”

The statement added that “the European Union, through diplomatic efforts and engagements, plays a crucial role in facilitating the rescue of the Sounion ship.”

The *Sounion* is the third oil tanker owned by the Greek company Delta Tankers to be attacked this month, following earlier attacks on the *Delta Atlantica* and *Delta Blue*.

According to *Vanguard*, the reason for targeting Delta’s tankers is that some of its ships have recently reached Israel. According to the security company, the *Delta Star* arrived in Israel last July, as confirmed by a recent investigation published by the *Ikat* platform.