Greece announces the start of the process of unloading the crude oil shipment from the tanker "Sunion" that was attacked by the Houthis last August

The Greek authorities announced the start of unloading the crude oil shipment from the "Sunion" tanker, which it owns, and which was attacked by the Houthi militia last August in the Red Sea, west of Yemen.

The Athens Macedonian News Agency ( AMNA ) quoted sources in the Greek Ministry of Transport as saying that “the transfer of about 150,000 tons of crude oil from the Greek tanker (Sunion), using portable means of transportation, to the tanker (Delta Blue), began last Thursday, at a safe anchorage point in the port of Suez, where the tanker arrived on October 30.”

The sources added that the operation is being carried out by the rescue crew on board the Greek rescue ship "Aegion Pelagos", which had previously towed the damaged tanker to the Egyptian port, and the operation is expected to last between three and four weeks.

The tanker and its cargo remained ablaze for about seven weeks, since the ship was attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea. The twenty fires on board as a result of the explosions detonated by the Houthis were successfully extinguished by the crew of the ship "Aegeon Pelagos".

The same sources indicated that the aim of this operation is to secure and stabilize the tanker, as it does not have its own mechanical means, and the hull panels were exposed to stress due to fires on its surface, after the explosions that broke out on board.

The tanker "Sunion" was first attacked by the Houthis on Wednesday, August 21, and the following day, its crew of 25 (23 Filipinos and two Russians) was transferred by a French destroyer to a safe location in Djibouti. "The Houthi rebels later boarded the tanker and detonated explosive devices on its deck, causing fires in many areas."