Houthi-attacked tanker Sounion successfully towed through Suez Canal

The oil tanker Sounion, which was severely damaged by a Houthi terrorist attack last year, was successfully towed through the Suez Canal yesterday by four tugs belonging to the Suez Canal Authority on its journey from the Red Sea to Greece.

The Greek-flagged vessel measures 274 metres in length, 50 metres in width, and has a draught of 31 feet.

Preparations for towing the tanker required complex procedures over several months to unload its cargo of 150,000 tonnes of crude oil before allowing it to transit the canal.

This was due to the hazardous situation of the tanker after it was attacked in the Red Sea last August, resulting in a massive fire in the bridge, engine room, and living quarters, and causing control and monitoring systems to malfunction, making navigation difficult and increasing the risk of pollution, spills, or explosions.

"Salvage companies Ambrey and Mega Tugs, appointed by the tanker’s owners, worked through a joint action plan in collaboration and under the full supervision of the authority’s marine rescue team to unload the cargo onto a similar tanker, according to precise unloading rates and calculations to prevent any damage or splitting of the tanker’s hull," said Egypt's State Information Service.

Sounion transited the canal towed by the accompanying rescue tug Aigaion Pelagos and was guided by the tug Baraka and secured by tugs Mohamed Bashir and Swiss 1 on the sides, with Swiss 2 operating off the stern.

The towing operation took nearly 24 hours with the participation of 13 pilots in the anchorage and canal areas and was conducted in several stages interspersed with waiting periods and pilot changes.

The tanker was towed from the Suez anchorage on Saturday evening to the waiting area in the Great Bitter Lakes to await the passage of vessels from the northern and southern convoys and to complete the pilot change before continuing the towing operation to the Ballah area, where another pilot change was made, before towing the tanker to Port Said.