[2] The Red Sea crisis (Arabic: أزمة البحر الأحمر) began on 19 October 2023, when the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen launched missiles and armed drones at Israel, demanding an end to the invasion of the Gaza Strip.

[3][4] The Houthis have since seized and launched aerial attacks against dozens of merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea, drawing hundreds of air strikes on missile sites and other targets by US and allied forces.

It has also fired on merchant vessels in the Red Sea, particularly in the Bab-el-Mandeb—the southern maritime gateway to the Suez Canal of Egypt, creating major losses for the global economy.

[27] The deliberate destruction of an abandoned ship marked an apparent shift in Houthi tactics towards the Red Sea crisis compared to its prior sinking of Rubymar in February 2024 and Tutor in June 2024.

[2] The Aspides task force stated on 23 August that the explosions created a "significant environmental threat due to the large volume of crude oil on board" that could severely damage the diverse marine ecosystem in the Red Sea, and warned all nearby ships not to take any actions that could cause the situation to deteriorate.

Video taken by Houthi militants of the ship on fire showed flaming oil pouring into the sea from the top and side of the tanker shortly following the explosions.

[22] NASA satellite imaging taken at 10:04 a.m. UTC on 25 August indicated thermal anomalies in the Red Sea at 14° 59' 24.468"N 41° 39' 17.28"E, located north of the space roughly in between Al Hudaydah in Yemen and Tiyo in Eritrea.

[29] On 28 August, Iran's envoy to the United Nations announced that the Houthis agreed to a "temporary truce" to allow tugboats and rescue boats to reach the tanker.

[36] The tanker was slowly towed northwards after a salvage team secured it to the Greek-flagged tugboat Aigaion Pelagos, despite temperatures of up to 400 °F (204 °C) due to the fire.

[2] The Pentagon strongly condemned the Houthi movement for deliberately targeting the abandoned oil tanker and knowingly creating a severe environmental disaster that could significantly affect Yemen and the livelihood of its citizens.