Red Sea operation to tow stricken tanker and avert oil spill

The operation has started to tow a Greek-registered oil tanker stranded in the Red Sea after an attack by Yemen’s Houthi movement last month, a shipping source told Reuters on Saturday.

Towing the 900-foot MV Sounion to safety is the first step in a risky operation to salvage the vessel that caught fire after it was attacked repeatedly on 21 August. The second step will be the transfer of its cargo of about one million barrels of crude oil. Saudi Arabia, a key player in the region, will offer its assistance with that project, sources have said.

Any oil spill could be one of the largest from a ship, risking catastrophic environmental damage in an area that is particularly dangerous to enter. An initial effort to salvage the vessel was paused earlier this month due to safety reasons.

At least two tugs owned by a Greece-based salvage company are involved in the latest towing attempt, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Aspides, the European Union’s naval mission in the Red Sea, said on Saturday that its assets were in the area to protect the vessels involved in the operation. It described the operation as a “complex endeavour”, adding on Facebook that, “Creating a secure environment is necessary for the tugboats to conduct the towing operation.”

The salvage operation of the MV Sounion is essential in order to avert a potential environmental disaster in the region, added Aspides. “To achieve this, several public and private actors are working together.”

The Houthis announced on 23 August that they had “targeted the ship Sounion in the Red Sea, due to its violation of the ban on access to the ports of occupied Palestine.” The Houthis have been targeting Israeli and Israeli-linked vessels in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The ongoing Israeli aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip has so far killed more than 41,200 Palestinians, wounded at least 95,337 others, and caused the displacement of 90 per cent of the Strip’s population, according to UN data. Another 11,000 are missing, presumed dead, under the rubble of their homes and other civilian infrastructure destroyed by Israel.

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