Old image wrongly linked to 2024 Houthi attack in Red Sea | Fact check

An Aug. 23 Threads post (direct link, archive link) includes a photo showing flames and smoke rising from a large ship at sea.
“BREAKING: Yemen’s Houthis partially destroyed the Greek ship SOUNION that was carrying crude oil,” text above the image reads.
The post was liked 1,200 times in five days.
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The image does not show the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which came under attack by Houthi militants in August in the Red Sea. It shows the aftermath of a 2019 attack on the Norwegian-owned Front Altair in the Gulf of Oman.
The Sounion tanker, carrying about 1 million barrels of crude oil, was attacked by Yemen’s Houthi militants on Aug. 21 in the Red Sea, Reuters reported. Rescuers evacuated the crew. The Greek-flagged ship remained on fire as of Aug. 29, and diplomatic efforts were underway to salvage the vessel and avoid a spill, the European Union’s naval command said.
But the image included in the Threads post predates the attack on the Sounion and shows a different ship. The photo was taken in 2019 and shows the Norwegian-owned Front Altair following an explosion in the Gulf of Oman, according to Reuters’ caption on the photo included in a photo gallery posted that year.
The Front Altair was one of two international vessels reportedly attacked on June 13, 2019, in the Gulf of Oman. Then-President Donald Trump blamed Iran for the attacks. Iran denied responsibility, according to The Washington Post.
Fact check: Video of cargo ship fire wrongly linked to attack on US vessel off Yemen
The Iran-linked Houthi militia has stepped up attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The group has connected its attacks on ships to Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip. Since November 2023, there have been at least 53 separate Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration reported in April.
U.S. forces have also carried out attacks against Houthi targets since the start of Israel’s current war with Hamas.
USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims involving the Houthi militia, including false assertions that a video shows the aftermath of a 2024 attack on a U.S. cargo ship off Yemen’s coast, that a video shows a British ship sinking after being struck by Houthi militants and that a video shows a strike against militants in Yemen.
The Threads user who shared the post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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