A tanker carrying nearly 1 million barrels of crude oil has been stranded and on fire in the Red Sea since it was attacked by Houthi rebels in Yemen three weeks ago. D MV Sounion is still intact, but may not be for long, and if it sinks it may lead to a The largest oil spill in historyAbout four times larger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. It will have massive environmental and economic impacts on a region already ravaged by war, and disrupt livelihoods and safe drinking water for millions of people. Attempts will probably be made soon ongoing To rescue the ship, however, is a high-risk operation in an active conflict zone, and success is far from guaranteed.
“It’s a catastrophic disaster waiting to happen, and I don’t think everyone involved fully understands the challenge or the implications of not meeting that challenge,” Ian Ralby, CEO of maritime security firm Consilium, told Vox. “We’re staring down the barrel of an intergenerational problem that’s really far more consequential than any other oil spill.”
The Greek-flagged tanker Sounion, carrying crude oil from Iraq to Greece, was first attacked on August 21 by Yemeni Houthi rebels with small arms and missiles, as well as an unmanned surface vessel. The Houthis, who have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, Claim they shot The ship is because its owner, the Greek company Delta Tankers, “has ties” to Israel and has other ships calling at Israeli ports. Two other ships owned by Delta Tankers were attacked in August.
The ship was carrying 23 Filipinos and two Russians and four personal security guards. rescue By a French destroyer the day after the attack, but the Sounion itself is stationary, currently anchored between the coasts of Eritrea and Yemen. Aug. 27 Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told reporters Initial attempts to rescue the vessel were abandoned after rescuers were “alerted off by the Houthis”.
On August 29, the Houthis planted explosives on the ship’s deck and detonated it. Publish a video Running the operation themselves. Shortly thereafter, Iran, the Houthis’ main international sponsor, said the group would Permitting a rescue operation One of the senior Houthi leaders, Mohammed al-Houthi, took the place. said That they would allow salvage to prevent environmental damage, but that the US and UK would be responsible for any oil spills caused by their support for Israel.
The situation appeared to be on the way to a resolution in early September, when an operation involving tugboats escorted by European naval vessels was launched to rescue the Sounion. But on September 3, Operation Aspids, an EU naval operation in the region, said in a statement that “the private companies responsible for cleanup operations have concluded that conditions are not met to conduct towing operations and it is not safe to proceed. Private companies are now exploring alternative solutions.”
In a statement to Vox, the tanker’s owner, Delta Tankers, said it was “doing everything it can to move the vehicle (and cargo). We are not in a position to comment further for security reasons.” The EU’s Operation Aspids did not respond to a request for comment. So far, the U.S. military does not appear to be involved in the rescue effort, deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters at a Sept. 5 briefing, “but right now I’m being told that the U.S. Navy is standing by to help.” It is being done through private channels.”
Trade publications Maritime Executive reported That Greece – the ship’s flag state – has discussed options with Saudi Arabia, which could include trying to tow it to a Saudi port or transfer the oil to another ship before it sinks. September 12, Reuters reported That another rescue operation will begin soon. But there’s no guarantee the Houthis won’t strike again, and experts say the kind of organizations that specialize in these types of operations are used to doing it in the middle of war zones.
“Even though the Houthis are giving the green light to tow this boat, they are still attacking ships around it,” Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemeni security analyst at consultancy Navanti Group, told Vox. “So insurance companies don’t feel comfortable with that, salvage companies don’t feel comfortable with that. There is no trust between the international community and the Houthis.”
The ship is still burning, not much time left. Like almost all tankers built since the Exxon Valdez disaster, the Sounion Double hulled And won’t leak easily, and its oil tanks still seem intact. But depending on how much damage it’s already done, how much oxygen the oil cargo has been exposed to, and the severity of the fire, it’s likely only a matter of time.
“We don’t know how long that ship is there. If the fire is not put out, it will eventually sink,” Ralby said.
Exxon Valdez – four times
If Sounion’s cargo spills, it could potentially rank among the world’s worst environmental disasters. Greenpeace’s Middle East North Africa program director Julien Jeresati told Vox that the Red Sea is a large body of water — with the Suez Canal to the north and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait to the south — that doesn’t have the same circulation and liquefaction levels as the open ocean, making oil more likely to stick in place.
“You can’t clean up an oil spill,” Jeresati said. “You can try to contain it and mitigate it, but you’ll have effects and residuals for decades.” The difficulties involved in such an operation in an active war zone would be significantly greater.
“The Red Sea is truly a natural treasure,” Jeresati said. “It contains the coral species that are most resilient to climate change and bleaching, and is therefore particularly valuable, as they can help provide solutions for corals around the world.”
And the impact won’t just be felt underwater. A major oil spill could devastate the region’s fisheries, a major component of the economy on both sides of the ocean. (Before the civil war broke out in 2015, the fish belonged to Yemen Second largest export after oil and gas.) An oil spill could also cut off access to ports for impoverished Yemen Much-needed humanitarian aid.
This could further disrupt shipping through the Red Sea, which is already down by about two-thirds due to Houthi attacks. Shipping costs increase And further reverberating throughout the global supply chain.
A lot depends on it too when A piercing will be performed. Currently, surface currents in the Red Sea flow mainly south towards the Indian Ocean. Will be in October Switch and start the flow In the north, towards Saudi Arabia and Egypt. A major concern is that an oil spill may become contaminated Coastal desalination plants that serve millions of people In countries bordering the Red Sea, rely on fresh water.
A cruel irony of this situation is that the Red Sea region has recently been spared a similar disaster. The FSO Safer, a 1970s tanker converted by the Yemeni government into an offshore oil platform, is located off the central Yemeni city of Al-Hudaydah. Unchanged and fast The destroyer held a million barrels of oil in its hold, roughly the same amount as the Sounion.
Around 2021, it became clear that the ship was in danger of sinking or exploding. A Risk assessment in time It is estimated that it could affect the livelihoods of 1.6 million people, disrupt 50 percent of Yemen’s fisheries, and cost more than $20 billion in cleanup alone.
After years of negotiations with the Houthis, a UN-organized operation was finally organized to remove the oil from the ship. had an operation Completed in August 2023The Sounion crisis began almost exactly a year ago. At this time, the international community has very little time to act.
Why more environmental disasters are coming to the Red Sea
Hopefully there is still time for the region’s nongovernmental organizations and military forces to organize a rescue mission — and allow the Houthis to go ahead with it — before the worst happens. But while Sounion may not have caused the disaster itself, it is a reminder of the knock-on risks posed by the nearly year-old conflict in Gaza. Two additional oil tankers attacked by the HouthisBut not unable, in early September, even Sounion continued to burn.
Then there’s the Rubimar, the first ship sunk in a Houthi attack in March. Although carrying only a fraction of the Sounion’s oil, Rubimar had an 18-mile oil spill. red sea. A much bigger concern is 22,000 metric tons of fertilizer Still in the ship’s hold, which, if released underwater, could potentially cause massive algal blooms that destroy native species and create potentially oxygen-free “dead zones.” Experts believe that the cargo will remain in Rubimar For years, but not indefinitely, and the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations body, launched a Apply for funding for a clean
For Greenpeace’s Jaresati, the crisis is a reminder that even in the best of times, the global economy depends on “these big ships traveling around the world carrying highly toxic materials. It’s a ticking time bomb.”
It’s also a reminder that the longer the escalating conflict in the Middle East drags on, the greater and more unpredictable the risks.
