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August 2024 oil spill caused by attacks on the tanker Sounion | |
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Location | Red Sea, "77 nautical miles to the West of Al Hudaydah" |
Coordinates | 14°59′24.468″N41°39′17.28″E / 14.99013000°N 41.6548000°E [1] |
Date | 22 August 2024 |
Cause | |
Cause | Destruction of the oil tanker Sounion by Houthi militants |
Operator | Delta Tankers |
Spill characteristics | |
Volume | Up to 150,000 tons (~1 million barrels) of petroleum |
The attacks on the MT Sounion refers to Houthi attacks on a Greek-registered oil tanker and the resulting spillage of crude oil into the Red Sea, that at the time of the spill was carrying approximately 150,000 tons of petroleum cargo. The oil spill was caused by Houthi explosions targeting the ship, which caused the ship to burn and start spilling flaming crude oil into the ocean which the European Union Aspides military task force stated posed a severe environmental risk to the complex biodiversity of the marine region. [2]
The Red Sea crisis [3] [4] began on 19 October 2023, when the Iran-backed Ansar Allah (Houthi movement) in Yemen launched missiles and armed drones at Israel, demanding an end to the invasion of the Gaza Strip. [5] [6] The Houthis have since seized and launched aerial attacks against dozens of merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea, drawing hundreds of air strikes on missile sites and other targets by US and allied forces. [7] The crisis is linked to the Israel–Hamas war, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, the Iran–United States proxy conflict, and the Yemeni crisis. [8]
The Houthi movement's militants, who oppose Yemen's internationally recognized government, have since 2014 controlled a considerable swath of the country's territory along the Red Sea. Shortly after the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war, the Hamas-allied group began to launch missiles and drones at Israel. Houthi militants have also fired on various countries' merchant vessels in the Red Sea, and particularly in the Bab-el-Mandeb—the southern maritime gateway to the Suez Canal of Egypt and therefore a chokepoint of the global economy. The group has declared that they will not stop until Israel ceases its war on Hamas. [5] [9]
The Houthis says they consider any Israel-linked ship as a target, [10] [11] [12] including US and UK warships, but they have also indiscriminately attacked the ships of many nations. [13] [14] From October 2023 to March 2024, the Houthis attacked more than 60 vessels in the Red Sea. [15] To avoid attack, hundreds of commercial vessels have been rerouted to sail around South Africa. [16]
The Houthis' Red Sea attacks have drawn a military response from a number of countries. In January 2024, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2722, condemning the Houthi attacks and affirming freedom of navigation. [15] The United States-led Operation Prosperity Guardian was launched to protect Red Sea shipping. Since 12 January, the US and UK have led coalition air and missile strikes against the Houthis, while other countries are independently patrolling the waters near Yemen, attacking Houthi vessels in the Red Sea. [17] Undaunted, in May, Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree said, "We will target any ships heading to Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea in any area we are able to reach". [18]History | |
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Name | Sounion |
Owner | Delta Tankers |
Port of registry | ![]() |
Completed | 2006 |
Identification |
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General characteristics | |
Class and type | Crude oil tanker |
Tonnage | |
Length | 274 m (898 ft 11 in) |
Beam | 50.06 m (164 ft 3 in) |
Draught | 11 m (36 ft 1 in) |
Crew | 25 |
MT Sounion is a crude oil tanker built in November 2006 by the South Korea-based shipbuilder HD Hyundai Samho. Greek-flagged, her homeport is in Piraeus. [19] [20] [21] She is operated by the Athens-based Delta Tankers, whose ships Delta Blue and Delta Atlantica had previously come under attack by the Houthis. [22]
On 21 August 2024, the 274-meter-long oil tanker Sounion, owned by Delta Tankers and crewed by 25 Filipinos and Russians, with four security personnel, was targeted by Houthi militants while near the mouth of the Red Sea. Two Houthi fast attack craft engaged in a firefight with the Sounion armed guards before three projectiles struck the tanker. [23] The initial attack caused a fire on board that was extinguished, but also resulted in engine failure and the loss of propulsion. [24] [25] The tanker was en route from Basrah, Iraq to the oil refinery at Agioi Theodoroi in Greece. [26] The entire crew was rescued by the European Union Aspides naval military operation while the ship was drifting about 77 nautical miles to the west of Al Hudaydah port, using the French frigate Chevalier Paul to evacuate the crew to nearby Djibouti on 22 August 2024. [2] [27] While engaged in rescue operations, the Chevalier Paul sighted an approaching Houthi explosive boat and successfully engaged and destroyed it with the frigate's 20 mm Narwhal guns. [28]
On the evening of 23 August, Houthis released videos showing from a distance three simultaneous massive explosions on the ship, as Houthi militants chanted the slogan of the Houthi movement. The source of the explosions appeared to be explosives planted on the ship by the Houthis rather than missile or drone strikes, due to the simultaneous explosions. [29] The deliberate destruction of an abandoned ship marked an apparent shift in Houthi tactics towards the Red Sea crisis compared to its prior sinking of Rubymar in February 2024 and Tutor in June 2024. [2]
The Aspides task force stated on 23 August that the explosions created a "significant environmental threat due to the large volume of crude oil on board" that could severely damage the diverse marine ecosystem in the Red Sea, and warned all nearby ships not to take any actions that could cause the situation to deteriorate. Video taken by Houthi militants of the ship on fire showed flaming oil pouring into the sea from the top and side of the tanker shortly following the explosions. [29] Sounion was carrying approximately 150,000 tons of petroleum cargo at the time of the explosions, which was about the maximum amount it could carry. [2] On the night of 23 August, the Royal Navy noted that the fires were still burning as the vessel continued drifting. [24]
United States Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller stated that the damage to the ship could spill "a million barrels of oil into the Red Sea, an amount four times that in the Exxon Valdez disaster". [2] [30]
NASA satellite imaging taken at 10:04 a.m. UTC on 25 August indicated thermal anomalies in the Red Sea at 14° 59' 24.468"N 41° 39' 17.28"E, located north of the space roughly in between Al Hudaydah in Yemen and Tiyo in Eritrea. These readings implied the continuous burning of the ship and its petroleum cargo, as well as prolonged damage to the ship following the three large explosions. [31]
On 27 August, The Pentagon reported that the tanker appeared to be leaking oil, and was still on fire since the Houthi-conducted explosions on 22 August. [32]
Initial attempts by two third-party boats to pull the tanker to shore were repelled by Houthi militants threatening to attack them. [32] On 28 August, Iran's envoy to the United Nations announced that the Houthis agreed to a "temporary truce" to allow tugboats and rescue boats to reach the tanker. The Houthis said that no truce was established but that they would allow for the tanker to be rescued due to humanitarian and environmental concerns. [33]
The Pentagon strongly condemned the Houthi movement for deliberately targeting the abandoned oil tanker and knowingly creating a severe environmental disaster that could significantly affect Yemen and the livelihood of its citizens. Pentagon administrator Sabrina Singh stated in response to the attacks, “What exactly does this accomplish? They said they were launching these attacks to help the people of Gaza, not sure how that helps anyone in Gaza.” [25]
Matthew Miller, speaking on behalf of the United States Department of State, said on 24 August that the Houthis appeared "determined to sink the ship and its cargo into the sea" and that they were “willing to destroy the fishing industry and regional ecosystems that Yemenis and other communities in the region rely on for their livelihoods.” He called upon the Houthis to stop these actions and for other countries to intervene in order to prevent further environmental damage to the region. [2] [30]
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree, posted a video claiming that the Yemeni Navy had destroyed the Sounion, and stating that the motive for destroying the ship was the company violating Houthi-imposed restrictions on the use of Israeli ports, which were referred to as the ports of "occupied Palestine". [2]
USS Carney (DDG-64) is the 14th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. The guided-missile destroyer is the first to be named after Admiral Robert Carney, who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower administration.
Al Hudaydah, also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea and it is the centre of Al Hudaydah Governorate. As of 2023, it has an estimated population of 735,000.
The Houthi movement, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaidi Shias, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely from the Houthi tribe.
The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.
FSO Safer is a floating oil storage and offloading vessel that is moored in the Red Sea north of the Yemeni city of Al Hudaydah.
Events in the year 2023 in Yemen.
The Red Sea crisis began on 19 October 2023, when the Iran-backed Ansar Allah in Yemen launched missiles and armed drones at Israel, demanding an end to the invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have since seized and launched aerial attacks against dozens of merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea, drawing hundreds of air strikes on missile sites and other targets by US and allied forces. The crisis is linked to the Israel–Hamas war, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, the Iran–United States proxy conflict, and the Yemeni crisis.
Events in the year 2024 in Yemen.
Operation Prosperity Guardian is a United States-led military operation by a multinational coalition formed in December 2023 to respond to Houthi-led attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
On 30 December 2023, Houthi forces in the Gulf of Aden attacked the Maersk commercial vessel Maersk Hangzhou. Early the next day, Houthis again attacked the Maersk Hangzhou, attempting to board the freighter. The Maersk Hangzhou made a distress signal, to which U.S. Navy forces of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and destroyer USS Gravely responded. The U.S., along with Maersk security personnel aboard the ship, repelled the attack. The U.S. sank three Houthi vessels, killing ten Houthis. Maersk announced a 48-hour pause on shipping through the Red Sea following the incident.
These are monthly timelines of the Red Sea crisis, which began on 19 October 2023.
Since 12 January 2024, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, have launched a series of cruise missile and airstrikes, codenamed Operation Poseidon Archer, against the Houthi movement in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis had previously declared that their attacks are in support of Palestinians during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war; Houthi attacks on shipping were condemned by the United Nations Security Council the day before the initial strike.
On 26 January 2024, during the Red Sea crisis, the fuel tanker Marlin Luanda was struck by an anti-ship missile fired by Houthi forces.
Operation Aspides, also known as EUNAVFOR Aspides, is an EU military operation in response to Houthi engagements with international shipping in the Red Sea. Named after the Greek word for shields, Operation Aspides—unlike the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian—is a "purely defensive" mission to increase maritime surveillance in the region, provide escort to merchant vessels, and defend against strikes.
MV Rubymar was a Belize-flagged Handymax-size bulk carrier cargo ship completed in 1997. She previously sailed under the names Ken Shin from 1997, Chatham Island from 2009, and Ikaria Island from 2020, before being renamed Rubymar. On 18 February 2024, the ship was struck by a Houthi anti-ship missile during the Red Sea crisis while carrying a cargo of fertilizer. After being adrift for weeks, the ship sank on 2 March as a result of the strike, becoming the first vessel lost due to a Houthi attack during the crisis. The wreck poses a risk to navigation of the Red Sea, and also has the potential to cause environmental damage due to the leakage of its oil and fertilizer.
MV Behshad is an Iran-flagged general cargo ship built in 1999 and owned by the Iranian company Rahbaran Omid Darya Ship Management Company. She is suspected of serving as a command post and spy ship for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and a front for the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. For these reasons, she has been sanctioned by the United States Treasury. During the Red Sea crisis, she has been suspected of acting as a reconnaissance vessel for the Houthis in their attacks against shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waters.
On 12 June 2024, the Yemeni Houthi movement attacked the MV Tutor, a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier, in the southern Red Sea with an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) and an anti-ship missile, killing one crewmember. The vessel was seriously damaged, and later abandoned by her crew. She sank six days after the attacks. The attacks mark the first successful usage of a USV and the second sinking by the Houthis in the Red Sea crisis.
On 20 July 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an attack on Hudaydah Port in Al Hudaydah, Yemen. The attack damaged a power generating station, an oil refinery, fuel storage facilities belonging to the Yemen Petroleum Corporation (YPC), and port cranes. Israel claimed it targeted weapon storage facilities. 14 people were killed, including 12 port employees and more than 90 were injured, many with severe burns.
Yemeni Houthi militants performed a drone attack on Israel on 19 July 2024, hitting an apartment building near the US Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, Israel's economic center in Ben Yehuda Street. The drone strike killed one person in his apartment building, and injured 10 others. The drone was spotted but not intercepted due to what Israel attributed to human error, with the Houthis asserting that they had developed a drone with the ability to evade the Iron Dome. The air raid siren was also not activated.
The challenge has long been that Iran, which provides technology and crucial parts for the Houthis' missiles and drones, will continue to urge its proxy to carry out attacks regardless of US strikes. Iran is not deterred by attacks on its proxies. But it remains to be seen what it will take to deter the Houthis from continuing to be involved in Iran's proxy war against the United States and its allies.
But the vast majority of the vessels they have attacked are neither Israeli nor destined for the country. That has drawn the ire of countries in the Indian Ocean, including India and Sri Lanka...
Many of the vessels attacked by the Houthis have had no known connection to Israel.
Many Houthi attacks on commercial vessels have not appeared discriminate or linked to stated demands. Since October 17, the Houthis have attacked commercial and naval vessels more than 60 times (Figure 1)