Wikipedia

2024 Red Sea oil spill

The 2024 Red Sea oil spill refers to the spillage of crude oil from the Greek-flagged MT Delta Sounion oil tanker 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]

2024 Red Sea oil spill
Map
LocationRed Sea, "77 nautical miles to the West of Al Hudaydah"
Coordinates14°59′24.468″N 41°39′17.28″E / 14.99013000°N 41.6548000°E / 14.99013000; 41.6548000[1]
Date22 August 2024
Cause
CauseDestruction of the Sounion oil tanker by Houthi militants
OperatorDelta Tankers
Spill characteristics
VolumeUp to 150,000 tons (~1 million barrels) of petroleum

Background

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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]

Attack

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On 21 August 2024, the 274-meter-long MT Delta Sounion oil tanker owned by Delta Tankers and managed by 25 Filipinos and Russians and four security personnel was targeted by Houthi militants while near the mouth of the Red Sea. The initial attack caused a fire on board that was extinguished, but also resulted in an engine failure that caused the ship to lose propulsion.[19][20] The ship was en route from Iraq to the town of Agioi Theodoroi in Greece.[21] 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, which used a French destroyer to take the rescued crew members to land nearby Djibouti on 22 August 2024.[2]

Explosions

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On the evening of 23 August, Houthis released videos showing three simultaneous massive explosions on the ship as Houthi militants recorded from far away and chanted the slogan of the Houthi movement. The source of the explosions appeared to be explosives planted on the ship by the Houthis instead of missile or drone strikes due to the simultaneous explosions.[22] The deliberate demolition of the ship marked an apparent shift in Houthi tactics towards the Red Sea crisis compared to its prior sinking of the Rubymar in February 2024 and the Tutor in June 2024, marking the first deliberate destruction of a ship that was already left abandoned.[2]

Spill

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The Aspides task force released a statement on 23 August stating 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 to not 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.[22] The tanker 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 was still drifting.[19]

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 the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster".[2][23]

NASA satellite imaging taken at 10:04 a.m. UTC on 25 August 2024 indicated thermal anomalies coming from 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 Mora in Eritrea. These readings implied the continuous burning of the ship and its petroleum cargo, as well prolonged damage to the ship since the three large explosions.[24]

Reactions

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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.”[20]

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][23]

Houthi response

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Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree, posted the video claiming that the Yemeni Navy had destroyed the Sounion, and stated that the motive for demolishing the ship was due to the company violating Houthi-imposed restrictions on the use of Israeli ports, which was referred to as the ports of "occupied Palestine".[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NASA Worldview". worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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.
  20. ^ a b Dress, Brad (2024-08-22). "Pentagon criticizes Houthi rebels for Red Sea oil tanker attack". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  21. ^ "Houthi rebels release footage of explosion on Red Sea tanker". Sky News. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  22. ^ a b "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.
  23. ^ a b "Houthi Attacks on the SOUNION Oil Tanker Threaten Becoming an Environmental Disaster". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  24. ^ "NASA Worldview". worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
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