Oil Tanker Salvaged After Weeks-Long Fire in the Red Sea
An oil tanker that burned for weeks in the Red Sea following an attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels has been successfully salvaged, preventing what could have been an environmental catastrophe. The tanker, Sounion, was carrying one million barrels of crude oil and posed a significant threat of a massive spill in one of the world's critical waterways. The vessel became a target of Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who reportedly sabotaged it with explosives amid escalating tensions linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip. The attack led to extensive damage, with fires engulfing the ship and raising fears of an ecological disaster. In a statement on Friday, private security firm Ambrey, which was instrumental in the salvage operations, detailed the efforts taken to secure the vessel. "Over three challenging weeks, the fires were extinguished, cargo tanks patched and pressurized with inert gas, and the vessel declared safe," the firm said. A...