Months-old photo of oil tanker struck by Huthi rebels falsely linked to August 2024 attack on Sounion tanker

"The Department of Migrant Workers announced that the 23 Filipino crew members of the MT Sounion ship that was attacked by the rebel Huthis in the Red Sea have been rescued," reads a Visayan-language news graphic shared on Facebook on August 22, 2024.

The graphic includes a night-time photo of an oil tanker in flames.

The Visayan-language Facebook post repeated the claim, and added that the Greek-owned oil tanker "remains afloat after being hit by missiles from Yemen's Huthi rebels".

AFP reported that the Sounion was hit by several projectiles off the rebel-held Yemeni port of Hodeida on August 21, an attack that caused a fire and cut engine power (archived link).

The attack was claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who have waged a campaign against international shipping that they say is in support of Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on August 23, 2024

The photo was shared alongside similar claims in other Philippine regional languages such as here and here, as well as in English, Burmese and Thai. 

The image circulating online, however, does not show the Sounion.

Marlin Luanda tanker

Reverse image searches on Google led to the same photo published in reports by Sky News and Naval News about an oil tanker that caught fire in the Gulf of Aden after a missile attack by Huthi fighters (archived links here and here).

The reports, both published on January 27, 2024, both identified the ship in the photo as the "Marlin Luanda".

The photo was credited to French forces stationed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who posted it on social media platform X on the same day (archived link).

"Attack on the Marlin Luanda oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden," read the post's French-language caption. "After 20 hours of fighting, the fire is under control and the crew is safe and sound."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the graphic used in the false post (left) and the photo posted on X (right): 

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Screenshot comparison of the graphic used in the false post (left) and the photo posted on X (right)

AFP reported that a Huthi spokesman said missiles fired by the rebels had hit the Marlin Luanda -- an oil tanker operated by a British firm on behalf of trading giant Trafigura Group (archived link).

Hours later, US forces struck an anti-ship missile in Huthi-held Yemen.

US and British forces have launched joint strikes aimed at reducing the Huthis' ability to target vessels transiting the key Red Sea trade route. Washington has also carried out a series of unilateral air raids, but the Huthis have vowed to continue their attacks.

AFP has repeatedly debunked posts falsely depicting the Red Sea attacks such as here, here and here.