2024 Red Sea oil spill

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August 2024 oil spill caused by attacks on the tanker Sounion
2024 Red Sea oil spill
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 / 14.99013000; 41.6548000 [1]
Date22 August 2024
Cause
CauseDestruction of the oil tanker Sounion by Houthi militants
Operator Delta Tankers
Spill characteristics
VolumeUp 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]

Contents

Background

This section is an excerpt from Red Sea crisis.[ edit ]

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]

MT Sounion

MT Sounion
History
NameSounion
Owner Delta Tankers
Port of registryFlag of Greece.svg  Greece
Completed2006
Identification
General characteristics
Class and type Crude oil tanker
Tonnage
  • 85,206  GT
  • 163,759  DWT
Length274 m (898 ft 11 in)
Beam50.06 m (164 ft 3 in)
Draught11 m (36 ft 1 in)
Crew25

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]

Attack

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]

Explosions

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]

Oil spill

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]

Reactions

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 response

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]

See also

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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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Prosperity Guardian</span> International military operation to protect Red Sea shipping

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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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 missile strikes in Yemen</span> Military strikes conducted by the US and UK against Yemeni Houthis

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.

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MV <i>Rubymar</i> Belize-flagged bulk carrier

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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.

References

  1. ↑ "NASA Worldview". worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wright, Robert (24 August 2024). "Attack on oil tanker in Red Sea threatens 'severe ecological disaster'". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  3. ↑ Partington, Richard (3 January 2024). "What is the Red Sea crisis, and what does it mean for global trade?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  4. ↑ LaRocco, Lori Ann (3 January 2024). "Red Sea crisis boosts shipping costs, delays – and inflation worries". CNBC. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Yemen's Houthis 'will not stop' Red Sea attacks until Israel ends Gaza war". Al Jazeera. 19 December 2023. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "US Navy faces its most intense combat since World War II against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels". AP News. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
  7. ↑ Diakun, Bridget; Raanan, Tomer (15 December 2023). "Houthis target tenth ship in Red Sea as attacks turn increasingly indiscriminate". Lloyd's List . Archived from the original on 12 January 2024.
  8. ↑ References for this being a US-Iran proxy war:
  9. ↑ Michaelis, Tamar (10 December 2023). "Israel ready to act against Houthi rebels if international community fails to, national security adviser says". CNN. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "US Navy helicopters fire at Yemen's Houthi rebels and kill several in latest Red Sea shipping attack". Associated Press. 31 December 2023. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Partington, Richard (3 January 2024). "What is the Red Sea crisis, and what does it mean for global trade?". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  12. ↑ LaRocco, Lori Ann (3 January 2024). "Red Sea crisis boosts shipping costs, delays – and inflation worries". CNBC. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "How China ended up financing the Houthis' Red Sea attacks". Politico . 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2024-07-19. 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...
  14. ↑ "Hezbollah says security of all shipping harmed after US strikes on Yemen". Reuters . January 14, 2024. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Many of the vessels attacked by the Houthis have had no known connection to Israel.
  15. 1 2 "Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea: Issues for Congress". Congressional Research Service. 12 March 2024. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024. 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)
  16. ↑ "Red Sea crisis: What it takes to reroute the world's biggest cargo ships on a 4,000 mile detour". BBC . 21 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  17. ↑ "US names campaign to target Houthis in Yemen "Operation Poseidon Archer"". CNN. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  18. ↑ "Houthis say they will target Israel-bound ships anywhere within their range". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  19. ↑ "SOUNION". BalticShipping. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  20. ↑ "SOUNION, Crude Oil Tanker - Details and current position - IMO 9312145 - VesselFinder". VesselFinder. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  21. ↑ "SOUNION". MarineTraffic. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  22. ↑ "Tanker on Fire and Adrift After Multiple Houthi Attacks". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  23. ↑ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/greek-flagged-oil-tanker-poses-environmental-hazard-after-attack-in-red-sea/ar-AA1pg4oe?ocid=BingNewsSerp
  24. 1 2 Bellamy, Daniel (24 August 2024). "Greek-flagged oil tanker on fire and appears to be adrift in Red Sea". www.euronews.com. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  25. 1 2 Dress, Brad (2024-08-22). "Pentagon criticizes Houthi rebels for Red Sea oil tanker attack". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  26. ↑ "Houthi rebels release footage of explosion on Red Sea tanker". Sky News. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  27. ↑ "Houthis Set Sounion Tanker Ablaze Causing Potential Environmental Disaster". Maritime Executive. Vero Beach, Florida. 23 August 2024. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  28. ↑ Lagneau, Laurent (2024-08-22). "Mer Rouge : Une frégate française a détruit un drone de surface qui menaçait le pétrolier grec M/V Sounion". Zone Militaire (in French). Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  29. 1 2 "Fires break out on abandoned Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion that Yemen rebels attacked in Red Sea". AP News. 2024-08-23. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  30. 1 2 "Houthi Attacks on the SOUNION Oil Tanker Threaten Becoming an Environmental Disaster". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  31. ↑ "NASA Worldview". worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  32. 1 2 "Greek-flagged oil tanker appears to be leaking oil, Pentagon says". Reuters . 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  33. ↑ "Yemen's Houthis will let salvage crews access oil tanker they set ablaze in Red Sea". Reuters. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
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