This is a still from a video. The media office of Ansar Allah released the video. It’s the media arm of Yemen’s Houthi rebels. This happened on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. The video shows an attack. The Houthis described it as one of their attacks on the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion in the Red Sea.
(Washington) The United States issued a warning on Saturday. There is a potential environmental catastrophe in the Red Sea. Houthi rebels attacked an oil tanker off the coast of Yemen.
The Greek-flagged Sounion was hit by projectiles Wednesday off the rebel-held port city of Hodeidah. The Iran-backed Houthis said they hit the ship with drones and missiles.
On Friday, the Royal Navy-run maritime security agency UKMTO reported three fires on the ship. The Houthis posted a video on social media. They said the video showed three explosions on the tanker.
The tanker had left Iraq and was heading to a port near Athens, carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil.
“Continued Houthi attacks threaten to spill a million barrels of oil into the Red Sea. This amount is four times greater than the Exxon Valdez disaster,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. He made the statement on Saturday.
The tanker ran aground off the coast of Alaska in 1989. This event caused one of the worst environmental disasters in US history.
“The crew has been evacuated. However, the Houthis seem determined to sink the ship and its cargo at sea,” Miller said.
A ship from the European Union’s Aspides mission rescued the crew of the Sounion. The crew consisted of 23 Filipinos and two Russians.
The latter also warned on Thursday that the unmanned ship represented “a danger to navigation and the environment”.
The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have experienced months of attacks. Yemeni rebels claim they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This region is embroiled in a deadly war between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas.
In March, the Rubymar was hit by the Houthis. The ship was flying the Belize flag. It sank with its cargo of 21,000 tonnes of ammonium phosphate sulphate fertilizer.
Many sailors have been killed in these attacks. Others have been seriously injured. These attacks disrupt traffic off the coast of Yemen. This is a maritime zone essential for world trade.
“We call on the Houthis to immediately cease these actions,” Miller said. “We urge other nations to step in. They need to help avert this environmental catastrophe,” he added.
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