The MV Sounion oil tanker, which burned for weeks in the Red Sea after an attack by Houthi rebels, has been salvaged. The tanker posed a significant environmental threat due to its cargo of one million barrels of crude oil. After extensive efforts by a private security firm and a European naval force, the fires were extinguished and the vessel was declared safe. The US State Department warned that a spill could have been catastrophic, surpassing the Exxon Valdez disaster. The Houthis have been involved in a campaign against vessels linked to Israel and its allies amid ongoing conflicts in the region.