LONDON: A Greek oil tanker is caught within the Purple Sea after it was attacked by Houthi rebels, an Iran-backed militia group that controls swathes of northern Yemen and has disrupted essential delivery lanes in a present of solidarity with Palestinians within the Gaza Strip.
The MV Delta Sounion has been immobilised for greater than per week, making it a sitting duck for additional assaults whereas additionally elevating fears of an environmental catastrophe.The tanker was carrying the equal of 1 million barrels of crude oil. The Sounion, its crew evacuated, at the moment sits in waters patrolled by Houthi vessels. The Houthis have mentioned they are going to enable a rescue mission, however shifting the ship can be precarious. Worldwide naval forces and businesses are working collectively to find out how one can transfer the practically 900-foot-long tanker.
The Sounion was crusing via the southern Purple Sea when it got here beneath assault from vessels managed by Houthi fighters Aug 21. No crew members had been killed or injured, however the ship misplaced engine energy through the assault, the naval mission mentioned on social media. The crew of 23 Filipino and two Russian sailors was evacuated to Djibouti. The Sounion, flying a Greek flag and managed by Athens-based Delta Tankers, had been travelling from Iraq to Greece. Now, it poses a navigational hazard to different ships passing via the realm, the Pentagon mentioned.
The cargo comprises 150,000 tons of crude oil, or over 1 million barrels. What’s worse, the stranded ship has been on fireplace, posing an “imminent menace of regional air pollution”, the EU naval mission mentioned. On Wednesday, aerial photos of the Sounion confirmed a number of fires on the deck. A possible oil spill of 4.1 km in size has been detected within the space matching the situation of the Sounion, Greece mentioned in a letter circulated via the UN’s delivery company on Friday. The US state division has mentioned the spill of 1 million barrels of oil could be 4 occasions the scale of the 1989 Exxon Valdez catastrophe in Alaska.
The MV Delta Sounion has been immobilised for greater than per week, making it a sitting duck for additional assaults whereas additionally elevating fears of an environmental catastrophe.The tanker was carrying the equal of 1 million barrels of crude oil. The Sounion, its crew evacuated, at the moment sits in waters patrolled by Houthi vessels. The Houthis have mentioned they are going to enable a rescue mission, however shifting the ship can be precarious. Worldwide naval forces and businesses are working collectively to find out how one can transfer the practically 900-foot-long tanker.
The Sounion was crusing via the southern Purple Sea when it got here beneath assault from vessels managed by Houthi fighters Aug 21. No crew members had been killed or injured, however the ship misplaced engine energy through the assault, the naval mission mentioned on social media. The crew of 23 Filipino and two Russian sailors was evacuated to Djibouti. The Sounion, flying a Greek flag and managed by Athens-based Delta Tankers, had been travelling from Iraq to Greece. Now, it poses a navigational hazard to different ships passing via the realm, the Pentagon mentioned.
The cargo comprises 150,000 tons of crude oil, or over 1 million barrels. What’s worse, the stranded ship has been on fireplace, posing an “imminent menace of regional air pollution”, the EU naval mission mentioned. On Wednesday, aerial photos of the Sounion confirmed a number of fires on the deck. A possible oil spill of 4.1 km in size has been detected within the space matching the situation of the Sounion, Greece mentioned in a letter circulated via the UN’s delivery company on Friday. The US state division has mentioned the spill of 1 million barrels of oil could be 4 occasions the scale of the 1989 Exxon Valdez catastrophe in Alaska.
