As she recalled Reuters AgencyHouthi fighters are in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas. They have sunk two ships so far in their 10-month campaign against commercial shipping in the Red Sea. They are likely to continue attacks until a ceasefire is reached in the Gaza Strip.
Houthis Attack Tanker in Red Sea, Oil Spill Could Have Led to Disaster
Down attack The tanker Sounion was attacked on August 23. Houthi fighters planted a bomb on the ship bombswhich led to damage to the deck and explosion series of fires. Importantly, the tanker was transporting almost half a million barrels of oil – 150 thousand tons of raw material, which could have caused a dangerous leak after the attack.
A few days after the fires broke out on Sounion, the rebels allowed the services to tow the ship to a safe place. The rescue operation managed to prevent an ecological catastrophe, the specter of which was connected with the possibility of a major oil spill into the Red Sea.
The militants agreed to carry out the rescue operation. Environmental experts feared the worst
Reuters reported that according to Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh, the barrels crude oil on the tanker remained intact. The only leak that occurred was from damaged areas on the ship, and fires on board were said to still be ongoing.
The largest oil spill from a ship in history to date was the Atlantic Empress disaster in 1979. According to data from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, 287,000 tons of oil spilled into the Caribbean Sea.