The Greek coastguard said it would soon begin towing an oil tanker abandoned off Yemen after it was hit by Houthi rebels protesting Israeli attacks on Hamas militants in Gaza.
The Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion was hit by rockets off the coast of Hodeida on 21 August while carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil.
The damage to the ship threatens an oil spill in the Red Sea four times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska in 1989.
"Two tugboats have left the port of Piraeus and are currently in the vicinity of Sunion" escorted by a Greek and a French warship, the Greek coast guard said.
The Sounion's crew, consisting of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was rescued the day after the attack by a French frigate serving with the European Union naval mission in the Red Sea, Aspides.
The EU naval force was formed in February to protect merchant ships in the Red Sea from attacks by Houthi rebels, who are waging a campaign against international shipping that they say is aimed at showing solidarity with Hamas in its war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Since November, Houthi attacks have led to the sinking of two ships and the deaths of at least four crew members. | BGNES
