Oil spill averted in tow of Houthi-hit Sounion tanker to 'safe area'

The European Union’s (EU) combined, French Navy-led operation Aspides is providing updates on the Suezmax vessel Sounion that was repeatedly hit in Houthi attacks on 21 August. 

Posting on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the military operation said tug boats had ’successfully towed [Sounion] to a safe area without any oil spill’.

"While private stakeholders complete the salvage operation, Aspides will continue to monitor the situation. The 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," the EUNAVFOR Aspides post said.

Earlier posts detailed how the military service had successfully attached lines to the vessel and are in the process of towing it to "a safe location".

The posts did not specify the destination for the vessel, and spokespeople for the vessel’s owners Delta Tankers declined to add detail to prior statements that said the company is grateful for the assistance provided by EUNAVFOR Aspides and could not comment on the matter for security reasons. 

Prior messages from the EU naval force said Sounion is carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, and the EU force said the vessel represents "a navigational and an imminent environmental hazard".

The EU mission’s most recent statements have reiterated the vessel is not showing signs of spilling its cargo of more than a million barrels of crude oil.

Were the vessel’s cargo tanks to leak, the potential spill could be among the largest in history. The Red Sea region where the vessel was struck by Houthi explosives is an ecologically sensitive area, and millions of inhabitants along the Red Sea coast rely on the water body for food and livelihood.

In late August, Reuters reported Houthi militia leaders had agreed to allow Sounion to be towed after attacking the vessel multiple times and then setting it on fire.The Houthis later denied the claim and the EU military was reported as saying private salvage companies had declined to undertake salvage operations because the situation was too unsafe. 

The vessel has apparently been burning for nearly a month, and on 12 September, EU naval forces said they stood ready to "facilitate a new salvage operation "in the coming days by providing protection to the commercially chartered ships that will tow the ship to a safe location".

"The salvage operation of [Sounion] is essential in order to avert a potential environmental disaster in the region. To achieve this, several public and private actors are working together. EUNAVFOR Aspides assets have been actively involved in this complex endeavour, by creating a secure environment, which is necessary for the tugboats to conduct the towing operation," the group said.

On 15 September, the EU naval forces said the tow of the vessle was underway and would be conducted in phases. They posted photos showing the vessel still ablaze.