Three fires have broken out on a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea, the UK’s Maritime Trade Authority said on Friday, a day after rescuers evacuated its crew following an attack by Yemen’s Houthi militants.
Reuters reports this.
Recall that the Houthis damaged the tanker on Wednesday, causing a fire and loss of engine power. The lives of the 25 crew members were miraculously saved by a European warship that was able to evacuate the people. The tanker was anchored between Yemen and Eritrea; rescuers evacuated the ship from the area where the emergency occurred.
On Friday, the UKMTO said in an update that it had received reports of three fires on the ship, which “appears to be adrift.” Later that day, the Houthis posted a video on social media purportedly showing them setting the tanker on fire.
The stricken tanker, carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, poses a danger to the environment, according to the EU naval mission in the Red Sea, Aspides. If the tanker is attacked again, it could spell disaster for the entire Red Sea region. The Sounion was the third ship from Athens-based Delta Tankers to be attacked by the Houthis this month.
According to the International Federation of Tanker Owners Against Pollution, the largest oil spill from a ship occurred in 1979, when approximately 287,000 tonnes of oil spilled from the Atlantic Empress after it collided with another tanker in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Tobago during storms.
