Salvors have begun the operation to transfer the crude oil left in the cargo tanks of the damaged Greek tanker Sounion, some three months after it was originally targeted by Houthi rebels.
Sounion is now anchored just south of the Suez Canal in Egypt. The tug Aigaion Pelagos and the ship Delta Blue will participate in the offloading operation and transfer the extracted oil.
Around 150,000 tonnes of crude oil are thought to still reside in Sounion's cargo tanks. Officials from Egypt's shipping ministry estimate the removal process to take three to four weeks owing to the volume of oil involved.
The Houthis had repeatedly attacked Sounion as it transited the Red Sea in late August. One attempt used an explosives-laden unmanned boat, which was promptly captured and destroyed by a French Navy cruiser that had arrived in the vicinity to aid the tanker.