The salvage operation to rescue the oil tanker MT Sounion in the Red Sea has encountered a significant challenge. The private companies leading the efforts have determined that current conditions are unsuitable for towing the vessel, leading them to seek alternative solutions.
The Greek-registered MT Sounion, which is carrying about 1 million barrels of crude oil, poses a serious environmental risk following an attack by Yemen’s Houthi militants on August 23 that set the tanker on fire. Several fires are still active on the ship.
The European Union naval mission, Operation ASPIDES, has been offering protection to tugboats involved in the salvage efforts since September 1. They reported, “The private companies managing the salvage operation have decided that conditions are not safe for towing. They are now exploring other options.”
The environmental implications of this incident are dire. Should the Sounion sink and release its entire load, it would result in the fifth-largest oil spill ever recorded, with a potential spill volume nearly quadruple that of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster.
The Sounion belongs to Greece-based Delta Tankers and is the third vessel from the company attacked in the Red Sea recently. It was traveling from Iraq to Greece carrying a crew of 25, which included two Russians and 23 Filipinos.
These attacks are part of a series of drone and missile strikes by Iranian-backed Houthis on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, beginning in November 2023. These actions have been declared as support for Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Boskalis’ SMIT Salvage is tasked with the salvage operation of the Sounion. This effort comes a year after SMIT successfully removed 1.1 million barrels of oil from the deteriorating FSO Safer, an oil storage ship abandoned off Yemen’s coast since 2015 due to the civil war. During that operation, the oil was transferred to a replacement vessel secured by the United Nations from Euronav earlier that year.
The UN had previously warned that a major spill from the FSO Safer could severely impact fishing communities along Yemen’s coastline and result in cleanup costs estimated at $20 billion, in addition to disrupting passage through the vital Bab al-Mandab strait.
As the situation unfolds, Operation ASPIDES reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring safe navigation for merchant ships in the region.