A Pentagon spokesman reported on Tuesday that the Greek-flagged crude tanker Sounion, which was recently attacked by Yemeni Houthis, is still burning in the Red Sea. It now appears to have oil leaking out of it.
Last week, multiple projectiles were fired at the Sounion off Yemen’s port of Hodeidah. Houthis, which control Yemen’s largest regions, claimed to have attacked the Sounion in the Red Sea as the Iran-aligned groups have been attacking ships that are in solidarity with Palestinians during the war between Israel & Hamas and Gaza.
Air Force Major-General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, said that the Houthis had threatened to attack two tugboats sent by a third party to assist in salvaging the Sounion. He said that the tanker carried about 1,000,000 barrels of crude.
Ryder stated, “These are reckless acts of terror which continue to destabilize regional and global commerce, endanger the lives of innocent civilians and threaten the vibrant maritime eco-system in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Houthis own backyard.”
He said that the U.S. Military was working with partners in the area to find ways to assist the vessel and to mitigate any environmental impact.
In a 10-month campaign that has forced ship owners to avoid using the Suez Canal shortcut, the Iran-aligned group sunk at least two ships and killed three crew members.
In a televised address, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said that the Houthis attacked the tanker partly because Delta Tankers had violated the ban on entry to “ports of occupied Palestine”.
This is the third Delta Tankers vessel, based in Athens, to have been attacked by pirates in the Red Sea. Delta Tankers stated that the attack resulted in a fire aboard, which was extinguished by the crew.
According to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, the largest ship-source oil spill occurred in 1979 when the Atlantic Empress collided with a crude carrier off the coasts of Tobago and the Caribbean Sea during a storm.
