Crippled oil tanker in Red Sea raises fears of environmental catastrophe
BEIRUT — A masked fighter walks the deck of the crippled oil tanker, kneels before a collection of wires and a detonator, then presses a button. Moments later, five fireballs bloom along the deck, engulfing the entire length of the ship in plumes of black smoke.
These were the scenes broadcast on Thursday by Yemen’s Houthis, in video that showed militants from the Iran-backed rebel group storming the Greek-flagged vessel MV Delta Sounion. It raised the specter of an environmental catastrophe in one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors.
The MV Delta Sounion — which is carrying approximately 1 million barrels of crude oil, Pentagon officials say — was en route to Greece from Iraq when it was targeted by a barrage of projectiles near the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah, which the Houthis control.
There were no casualties among the 23 Filipino and two Russian sailors on board; they were later evacuated. Fires broke out and the ship lost engine power.
Israel’s attack in Yemen — after Houthi rebels hit Tel Aviv — gives militant group the legitimacy it craved, experts say, as fears of regional war rise.
The Houthis said they attacked the Sounion tanker as part of their 10-month campaign to support Palestinians in the Gaza war by targeting Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea.
In response, the U.S., the U.K. and the European Union have deployed warships to the Red Sea with the aim of neutralizing the Houthi threat. But the disruptions continue, with Western military officials saying they are facing some of the most intense naval engagements since World War II.
Hours after the Houthi-run Masirah TV channel broadcast the Sounion video, the group’s leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, gave a televised address lauding what he described as a “bold and courageous” operation on the Sounion for “violating” the group’s “blockade” on Israeli shipping.
“The impact of this on the economy of our enemies is escalating,” Al-Houthi said.
Mohammad Abu Al-Qumsan lost his children, wife, and mother-in-law in an Israeli strike that hit a Gaza Strip apartment building while he was away.
On Thursday, Eunavfor Aspides, the EU mission to the Red Sea, reported in a statement on the social media platform X that “multiple fires have been detected in several locations on the main deck of the vessel” and have been burning all week.
Contrary to reports from other Western officials, Aspides said, “there’s no oil spill, and the ship is still anchored and not drifting.”
Images taken by the satellite intelligence company Black Sky depict flames burning throughout the day and night on the top deck.
Aspides said European governments along with neighboring countries were engaged in diplomatic efforts to facilitate the salvage of the Sounion.
On Wednesday, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said in a statement on X that the group would not prevent efforts to tow the ship. Such an effort may begin in the coming days, Reuters said Friday.
The Israeli military launched what it called preemptive strikes in Lebanon against the militant group Hezbollah early Sunday. Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets at Israel.
The Houthis’ campaign has snarled global trade on the Red Sea, forcing ships to abandon the California-sized waterway for the longer voyage around Africa. The result has been an average 39% increase in transit times between Asia and the Mediterranean, according to the research firm Sea-Intelligence, while the cost for shipping containers has more than tripled. Traffic in the Suez Canal has fallen by roughly half. For Israel, the campaign has led to the near bankruptcy of the port of Eilat.
Last month, Israel struck Yemen’s port city of Hudaydah, killing at least six people in retaliation for a Houthi drone attack that killed one person in Tel Aviv.
The Houthis have vowed to respond to the bombing.
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