Yemen’s Houthi rebels have released footage showing them boarding a tanker and setting off explosives, putting the Red Sea at risk of a major oil spill.

Masked militants chanted their motto as the bombs detonated aboard the Sounion, a Greek-flagged oil ship that had been abandoned.

The blasts capped the most serious attack in weeks by the Houthi rebels, who have been harassing ships in the Red Sea in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The Sounion’s crew, of 25 people from the Philippines and Russia and four private security workers, had been rescued by a French destroyer operating in the area, but concerns remained for the million or so barrels of oil on board.

Western countries and the United Nations have warned any oil spill from the Sounion could devastate the coral reefs and wildlife around the Red Sea.

However, the EU’s naval force in the region says it has yet to see any oil spill from the tanker.

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In the Houthi video released on Thursday, the Iran-backed rebels chanted: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”

The Houthis were seen carrying Kalashnikov-style rifles as they boarded and the bridge of the vessel appeared ransacked.

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Fighters then rigged explosives over hatches on its deck leading to the oil tankers below. At least six simultaneous blasts could be seen in the footage.

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