Red Sea Oil Spill Averted After Tanker Salvaged Following Houthi Attack

The Greek-flagged Sounion, carrying one million barrels of crude oil, was stabilized and offloaded after months of salvage efforts, preventing an environmental disaster.

• The Sounion tanker, attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels in August 2023, carried a potential spill risk of one million barrels of crude oil.
• Salvage teams, including a European naval force and private security firm Ambrey, extinguished fires, patched tanks, and towed the vessel to safety by October 2023.
• The U.S. State Department warned that a spill from the Sounion could have been four times larger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster.
• The Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have targeted nearly 100 vessels in the Red Sea since the Israel-Hamas conflict began, claiming to focus on ships linked to Israel but often hitting unrelated targets.
• Although maritime attacks have decreased recently, the region remains volatile, with ongoing Houthi missile and drone launches requiring heightened international security efforts.

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