Salvage efforts to tow the burning oil tanker Sounion in the Red Sea have been abandoned, leaving the vessel stranded and at risk of spilling its one million barrels of oil.
On Tuesday, the EU‘s Operation Aspides announced that the salvage operation had been called off, stating that conditions were “not safe to proceed.”
NASA fire satellites confirmed that a blaze continues to burn aboard the Greece-registered vessel.
The Sounion was initially attacked on August 21, as the Iran-backed Houthis targeted it with projectiles and firearms.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have increasingly disrupted the region’s maritime traffic, alleged to be attacking Israeli allies in support of Palestine.
The potential oil spill could become one of the worst environmental disasters in recent history.
Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion burns in the Red Sea, following attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. One million barrels of the ship’s oil cargo, is at risk of causing a major environmental disaster.
European Union’s Operation Aspides via AP
The crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, along with four private security personnel, were previously rescued by a French destroyer as part of the European Union‘s Operation Aspides and taken to Djibouti.
The tanker has remained anchored in the Red Sea since then, with the situation becoming more precarious.
Representatives for the rebels have since claimed they would allow salvage operations.
Conversely, their past actions suggest they may use the threat of an environmental catastrophe to gain concessions from the international community.
Since the war in Gaza erupted in October, the Houthis have launched over 80 attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea, sinking two ships and killing four sailors.
As a consequence, unknown quantities of the approximately $1 trillion in goods that pass through it each year are being damaged.
Although the rebels insist they target ships connected to Israel, the U.S., or the U.K., many of the attacked vessels have had little or no ties to the ongoing conflict, including some bound for Iran.
Grab from video released by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, on August 29, 2024, shows explosions on the oil tanker Sounion. The attack has the potential to be one of the highest-impact of over 80 on merchant vessels since October.
Ansar Allah Media Office via AP
The U.S. State Department has raised alarms over the potential scale of an oil spill from the Sounion, warning it could be “four times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster” in 1989.
However, the extent of America’s involvement in the salvage effort remains uncertain.
Currently, two U.S. aircraft carriers, the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Abraham Lincoln, are stationed in the Gulf of Oman, poised to counter any Iranian retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran.
No U.S. vessels are currently operating in the Red Sea, leaving the EU’s Operation Aspides to continue to manage the situation.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
