Experts warn of 'serious environmental disaster' threatening Red Sea coasts due to burning oil tanker

An abandoned oil tanker carrying more than a million barrels of crude oil could pollute "vast areas" of the Red Sea and nearby coasts if it disintegrates or explodes, creating a serious "environmental disaster" with long-term effects, experts warn.

Days after targeting the Greek ship "Sunion" on August 21, Yemeni rebels rigged it with explosives and blew it up, setting it on fire while it was carrying one million barrels of crude oil.

The ship was still ablaze on Saturday, according to a Western naval report. It now poses a threat of spilling a massive amount of oil, four times the amount of oil that spilled in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.

Greenpeace warns that any leak or explosion on board the ship could cause irreparable damage. “Once a spill occurs, an oil spill of this size would be almost impossible to contain, spreading pollution across vast areas of the sea and coastline,” says Julien Jreissati, program manager for the Middle East and North Africa at the organization.

“The long-term implications for marine biodiversity could be devastating, as oil residues could remain in the environment for years or even decades,” he adds.

Houthi war on commercial ships

Since November, the Houthis have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden with missiles and drones. The rebels say the ships they target are linked to or heading to Israel, in what they see as support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging a war against Hamas after the latter attacked its territory on October 7.

Since the United States and Britain launched joint strikes on their sites in Yemen, the Houthis have been targeting ships they believe are linked to the two countries.

The first attack on the Sunion, which was carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil, caused a fire on board and the loss of engine power, forcing its 25 crew members to abandon it. They were evacuated by a French frigate from the European naval mission in the Red Sea, Aspedes.

Days later, the Iranian-backed Houthis rigged it with explosives and blew it up, sparking several fires on board. It is currently anchored west of the coast of Hodeidah, between Yemen and Eritrea.

Last week, private companies involved in the towing operation concluded that “conditions are not favourable” to do so, according to the Aspedas mission, which is tasked with protecting the towing vessels.

“Given that the ship is a large oil tanker with a huge load, and is now disabled and on fire, the situation is very dangerous and unpredictable,” Jreissati explains. “There is a high possibility of a major environmental disaster, as the ship could disintegrate or explode at any time.”

Ten months of Houthi attacks in Yemen have killed at least four sailors and sunk two ships, including the Robimar, which sank in March with its 22,000 tons of sulfur ammonium phosphate fertilizer. But the Sonion poses the most serious threat yet.

Risks of an unprecedented environmental disaster

“This is an environmental disaster slowly unfolding before our eyes,” said Wim Zwijnenburg, project manager for the Dutch peacebuilding organization PAX. Daily air patrols reported “several fires” on the ship’s main deck, but no visible oil slicks, the report said, adding that the tow operation was expected to begin “this week.”

“A small oil slick was spotted in some satellite images, likely linked to burning oil after the explosions or from the engine,” Zwijnenburg added, but “there were no indications of a crude oil spill.”

The ship "Sunion" is a reminder of the threat posed by the dilapidated tanker "Safer", which was built 48 years ago and was used as a floating storage platform, off the coast of Yemen.

For years, Safer has been described as a "time bomb" as it has not undergone any maintenance since the escalation of the war in Yemen in 2015, sparking fears that its cargo of 1.14 million barrels of crude oil could leak into the Red Sea.

In August 2023, the process of transferring oil from it to a new ship was completed, in a very expensive and complex process that took years to organize. But the United Nations warned at the time that “Safer will continue to pose an environmental threat because it retains viscous oil residues and remains at risk of disintegration.”

Noam Ryden, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who tracks attacks on ships, says the Sunion operation carries significant risks. “It would be difficult to find suitable tugboats in the region willing to operate in such a risky situation,” she says.

The expert stresses that what adds to the complications is that naval forces operating in the area will have to "stay close to the tanker to prevent the Houthis from interrupting the process" of towing the ship.

Source: AFP