The operation to rescue a Greek-flagged tanker, which is still on fire after it was attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea last month, is “preparing to begin”, the European Union’s naval mission Aspides announced on Monday.

The Greek-flagged Sounion, with 150,000 tonnes of crude oil in its tanks, was repeatedly struck on August 21 off the rebel-held Red Sea port of Hodaida. The Houthis, a movement close to Iran, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they struck it with attack drones and missiles.

The rebel movement later revealed that its members planted explosives on the vessel and detonated them, causing fires on the bridge — before finally giving “approval” for the vessel to be towed to a safe port to avoid environmental damage.

The towing, which will be handled by private companies, is “preparing to begin”, the European mission informed via X on Monday.

The European naval force Shields “will guarantee the protection of the tugs that will undertake the rescue operation and will facilitate their efforts to avoid an environmental disaster”, he added.

During the mission, “fires continue to burn on the ship’s main bridge”, however so far there is “no visible sign of a leak” of crude.

The twenty-five-member crew of the Sounion, which consisted of 23 Filipino nationals and 2 Russian nationals, was rescued by a ship of the European Union naval mission Shields the day after the attack. It was a French frigate of the force.

The naval mission Aspides was deployed in February to protect international merchant shipping from Houthi attacks.

The rebel movement, which controls the capital Sanaa and most of Yemen’s north, is targeting ships it says are linked to Israel in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where war continues to rage between Israel and and Hamas that broke out on October 7.

Its missile and drone attacks have become a major problem for navigation in the waters around Yemen, a sea area vital to global trade, prompting the US to form an international naval coalition operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and to launch a series of bombings against Houthi positions and weapons systems in Yemen, in several cases with the cooperation of Britain.

The European Shields mission, of a defensive nature, has a mandate that allows its elements to open fire either to defend merchant ships or in legitimate defense.

According to the British maritime security agency UKMTO, two more ships, one of which is managed by a Greek shipping company, were hit yesterday Monday in Houthi attacks off Yemen, with no casualties reported.