A post on Facebook (FB) erroneously linked a photo of a different ship assault to the Houthi-led strike against the MT Sounion tanker ship whose crew included 23 Filipinos.
Published on Aug. 21, the post which continues to circulate this week, carries this text:
“23 Filipinos onboard MT Sounion are still Seeking Urgent Rescue after the attack… The UK maritime agency says.: Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion is adrift in the Red Sea after coming under multiple attacks, which sparked a fire on board… MT Sounion was hit by 2 missiles. Hoping all crew are safe. God bless them. No further updates as of now.”
Alongside the text, the FB page that published the post also included an image of a ship engulfed in flames.
The attack on the MT Sounion happened last Aug. 21, but the photo used in the post shows a different oil tanker that was also hit by Houthi rebels earlier this year.
The image of the ship on fire was originally published by the official X account of the French Forces Deployed in the Indian Ocean in January. Its French caption stated that the Marlin Luanda oil tanker – not the MT Sounion – was attacked in the Gulf of Aden.
On Aug. 22, the Department of Migrant Workers confirmed in a statement the rescue of the 23 Filipino seafarers aboard the Greek-owned oil tanker attacked by Houthi rebels. The agency said the seafarers will be provided “psycho-social, financial, training and reintegration support” after they return home.
The inaccurate post emerged after Houthi rebels published a video showing an explosion on the MT Sounion oil tanker which they attacked.
FB page Seaman OnLine (created on Aug. 8, 2011) published the spurious post, garnering over 1,000 reactions, 50 comments and 450 shares.