Houthi attacks in the Red Sea: Pentagon: Oil tanker apparently leaks oil

CNN
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A Greek-flagged ship attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea appears to be leaking oil, a Pentagon spokesman said, warning of a “potential environmental disaster” in one of the world's busiest waterways.

The Sounion was bombarded by missiles last week after the Iran-backed group targeted the crude oil tanker as part of a months-long campaign against ships along the sea route.

The Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous regions, say the attacks are a response to the Israeli offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and devastated large parts of the Strip. The Israeli military launched its offensive after Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7 that killed around 1,200 people and abducted more than 250, according to Israeli authorities.

In recent days, images have emerged showing bright orange fireballs raging over the ship. The Sounion is carrying about a million barrels of crude oil, Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday.

According to Ryder, the ship was en route from Iraq to Greece when it came under fire. The entire crew, consisting of 23 Filipino and two Russian sailors, evacuated the carrier.

“The MV Delta Sounion is currently immobilised in the Red Sea, where it is burning and appears to be leaking oil, posing both a hazard to shipping and a potential environmental disaster,” Ryder said.

“These are simply reckless acts of terrorism that continue to destabilize global and regional trade, endanger the lives of innocent civilian seafarers, and threaten the vibrant maritime ecosystem in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Houthis' backyard.”

The damage to the ship poses “a risk to navigation and a serious and imminent threat of regional pollution,” said the statement from Eunavfor Aspides, a European Union maritime security operation to protect merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Gulf.

“There is no oil spill and the ship is still anchored and not drifting,” Eunavfor Aspides said in a post on X on Wednesday, adding that fires had been discovered in several places on the main deck.

According to Reuters, at least two ships were sunk in the Red Sea and three crew members were killed in attacks by the Houthis. The Red Sea is connected to the Suez Canal, a vital transport artery through which 10 to 15 percent of world trade passes.

According to a Reuters report, the Houthis fired on the tanker because Delta Tankers had violated the ban on “entering the ports of occupied Palestine,” according to the group's military spokesman, Yahya Saree.

Earlier this year, leading shipping associations called on their governments to put an end to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, but the costs of doing so have soared as companies have turned to alternative freight routes with longer travel times.

The US State Department called on the Houthis to stop their attacks along the busy shipping route and urged other nations to “step in and help avert this environmental catastrophe.”

The worst oil spill from a ship occurred in 1979, when about 287,000 tons of oil spilled from the Atlantic Empress after it collided with another freighter during a storm in the Caribbean Sea, according to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation.