Disaster averted in Red Sea as burning tanker saved

Image source, EUNAVFOR

Image caption, The EU naval mission said it provided protection for the salvage operation
  • Author, David Gritten
  • Role, 大象传媒 News

A burning oil tanker that was attacked by Yemen鈥檚 Houthi movement has been towed to a safe area in the Red Sea without any spill, an EU naval mission says.

The Greek-owned and flagged MV Sounion, carrying about a million barrels of crude, was abandoned by its crew after being hit by missiles on 21 August. Houthi fighters later detonated explosives on board, sparking several fires.

A photo released on Monday night showed three vessels belonging to what the EU mission described as 鈥減rivate stakeholders鈥 carrying out the salvage operation, protected by a warship.

The Sounion鈥檚 destination was not given, but Saudi Arabia has reportedly offered to help the salvagers offload its oil.

鈥淭he completion of this phase of the salvage operation is the result of a comprehensive approach and close co-operation between all stakeholders committed to prevent an environmental disaster affecting the whole region,鈥 .

A potential spill from the Sounion could be almost four times larger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, which saw 2,100km (1,300 miles) of coastline contaminated after a tanker ran aground off Alaska, according to the US.

The Iran-backed Houthis said at the end of August that they had agreed to allow the Sounion to be towed away from Yemen after being contacted by 鈥渟everal international parties鈥.

They also stressed that the attack on the tanker showed their 鈥渟eriousness in targeting any ship that violates the Yemeni embargo鈥.

The Houthis have repeatedly targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, sinking two vessels, seizing another and causing the deaths of at least four crew members.

They say they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They have claimed - often falsely - that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK.

They have not been deterred by the deployment of Western warships to protect merchant vessels, nor by US and British air strikes on territory they control in north-western Yemen.

Israel also bombed Yemen in retaliation for a deadly drone strike on Tel Aviv, and it has vowed to make the Houthis pay a 鈥渉eavy price鈥 for a missile attack on Sunday.

In a separate development on Monday, the Houthis said they had shot down a US-made MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen鈥檚 Dhamar province and released videos which they said showed the charred wreckage on the ground. The US military said it was aware of the claim.