Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said the Sounion attack could create an environmental “catastrophe” in Yemen’s backyard that “they are going to have to deal with.”
“What exactly does this accomplish?” she told reporters. “They said they were launching these attacks to help the people of Gaza, not sure how that helps anyone in Gaza.”
The Sounion was carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil when it came under Houthi attack.
The attack sparked a fire that was extinguished. But the crew was forced to evacuate to Djibouti after an engine failure.
The European Union naval military operation in the Red Sea said in a post on X that the Sounion represents a “navigational and environmental hazard.”
“The Houthis are very much still a threat to shipping as observed during recent weeks, particularly today with multiple attacks in the same day for the first time since 15 July,” wrote EOS Risk Group Middle East analyst Martin Kelly in a Wednesday post on X.
In a Thursday statement, the Houthis claimed the Sounion had entered Israel, violating their so-called ban on entering Israeli ports amid the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The Houthis said they “will not cease until the aggression is stopped and the siege on our brothers in the Gaza Strip is lifted.”
In some 10 months, the Iranian-backed Houthis have sunk at least two ships, heavily damaged at least two others and killed three sailors. They have also hijacked a ship.
The U.S. Navy is operating in the Red Sea, along with other partner nations, to defend merchant ships.
The coalition has taken out the vast majority of Houthi attacks that are fired almost daily and are targeting the group’s assets in Yemen.
More than half a year of direct fighting has not achieved the mission of deterring the Houthis from continuing their deadly campaign, but Singh demurred.
“We have been able to degrade their capabilities over time and we have been able to protect ships that transit the Red Sea through our alliance,” she said. “It’s not for nothing.”
