An oil tanker carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil is on fire and adrift in the Red Sea, after Houthi militants based in Yemen apparently caused three explosions on board. The Greek-flagged MV Sounion now represents a ‘navigational and environmental hazard’, according to the European Union’s naval mission in the region, Operation Aspides. It went on to warn that the fire ‘could lead to a severe ecological disaster with potentially devastating effects on the region’s biodiversity’.
This is a serious situation. Houthis attacked the vessel on Wednesday, following which the crew – 25 Filipino and Russian sailors and four private security contractors – was taken off by a French warship (probably the air defence frigate Forbin) and transferred to France’s joint base in Djibouti. The Sounion lay at anchor for a while before militants seemingly returned and set off a number of explosions, chanting their slogan ‘God is the greatest! Death to America! Death to Israel! Curse the Jews! Victory to Islam!’
The EU mission is right to draw attention to the danger of a huge oil spillage.
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