To the threats of crippled supply chains, global increase in costs of fuel and food, damaged regional security, and impeded humanitarian relief efforts, add the potential for ecological disaster to the consequences of the Houthis’ attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.
“On August 21, the MV [Merchant Vessel] Delta Sounion, a Greek-flagged, Greek-owned oil tanker carrying approximately one million barrels of crude oil was attacked by Iranian-backed, Houthi-crewed vessels,” Pentagon Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters at a press briefing August 27. “The MV Delta Sounion was sailing from Iraq to Greece with a crew of two Russian and 23 Filipino sailors ... The crew has since been evacuated.”
“The MV Delta Sounion now sits immobilized in the Red Sea, where it is currently on fire and appears to be leaking oil, presenting both a navigational hazard and a potential environmental catastrophe,” he said.
The Houthis have significantly increased their attacks on merchant vessels in recent months. They claim preposterously the attacks are in support of the Palestinian people and in retaliation for Israel’s operation against Hamas in Gaza following Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel October 7. At least two ships in the Red Sea have been sunk and three crew members killed by the Houthis Because of the targeting of commercial vessels, thousands of ships have opted to avoid the area and take longer, more expensive routes.
“These are simply reckless acts of terrorism,” said Maj. General Ryder:
“Which continue to destabilize global and regional commerce, put the lives of innocent civilian mariners at risk, and imperil the vibrant maritime ecosystem in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Houthis own backyard.”
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a written statement that the United States is “gravely concerned” by the attack on the Sounion tanker. He noted the potential of a million-barrel oil spill into the Red Sea, “an amount four times the size of the [1989] Exxon Valdez disaster.”
“The Houthis have made clear they are willing to destroy the fishing industry and regional ecosystems that Yemenis and other communities in the region rely on for their livelihoods, just as they have undermined the delivery of vital humanitarian aid to the region through their reckless attacks,” said Spokesperson Miller. “We call on the Houthis to cease these actions immediately and urge other nations to step forward to help avert this environmental disaster.”
