The Red Sea is facing an environmental disaster. Up to 1 million barrels could leak from the tanker “Sounion”, which was recently attacked by the Houthis.
Following the attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Yemen by the pro-Iranian Houthi militia, the USA has warned of the increased risk of an environmental disaster in the Red Sea. According to the spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, there is a threat of an oil spill of around four times the amount that entered the sea after the Exxon Valdez disaster 35 years ago.
The “Sounion” was first attacked with boats and then with projectiles. The crew fled to safety. According to Miller, the Houthis seem determined to sink the ship and its cargo in the sea.
EU mission rescues crew after Houthi attack
The tanker, owned by the Greek shipping company Delta Tankers, was reportedly on its way from Iraq to a port near the Greek capital, Athens, with 150,000 tons of crude oil on board. According to the UKMTO, the incident occurred 57 nm south of the Yemeni capital Aden.
The crew, consisting of two Russians and 23 Filipinos, was brought to safety by the EU mission “Aspides”, which is stationed in the Red Sea to protect merchant ships. According to the shipping company Delta Tankers, the ship has since been anchored in the Red Sea between Eritrea and Yemen.
The Houthi militia has been carrying out repeated attacks against merchant ships in the area for months. The militia, which is supported by Iran and allied with the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip, claims to be acting “out of solidarity” with the Palestinians since Israel and Hamas have been at war as a result of the latter’s major attack.
