Washington [US], August 25: The US State Department on August 24 warned of the risk of an environmental disaster in the Red Sea, after Houthi forces attacked an oil tanker off the coast of Yemen, AFP reported on August 25.
The Greek-flagged tanker Sounion was attacked on August 21 near the port of Hodeida. Houthis claimed to have attacked the ship with missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
By August 23, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had detected three fires on the ship, while a video posted by the Houthis on social media appeared to show three explosions on the ship.
The 274-meter-long ship departed from Iraq and was en route to a port near Athens, Greece, carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil.
"The continued Houthi attacks threaten to spill one million barrels of oil into the Red Sea , four times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in 1989, with 257,000 barrels of oil spilled off the coast of Alaska (USA).
"While the crew has been evacuated, the Houthi forces appear determined to sink the ship and its cargo into the sea," Miller said.
The entire crew of the Sounion, 23 Filipinos and two Russians, were rescued by a ship from the European Union's Espides mission, which warned that the unmanned vessel was a "maritime and environmental hazard".
"With these attacks, the Houthis have made clear that they are willing to destroy the fishing industry and ecosystem in the area that Yemenis and other communities in the region rely on for their livelihoods," Miller alleged.
"We call on the Houthis to immediately cease such actions and for other countries to act to help prevent this environmental disaster ," he added.
The Houthis have not commented on the statement. The Houthis launched a campaign against international shipping in the region in November 2023, citing support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid the Hamas-Israel conflict.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper