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The US Defense Department warned of a “potential environmental catastrophe” in the Red Sea on Tuesday after a possible oil leak from an oil tanker set on fire by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
The Greek-flagged tanker Sounion, carrying one million barrels of crude oil, was hit by a missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels last week.
The major oil spill would be the first serious environmental damage as a result of the Houthi campaign against international shipping in the Red Sea since November last year.
Yemeni Islamist groups say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after Israel launched war in the Strip in retaliation for a deadly October 7 attack by Hamas on the Jewish state.
Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said at a press conference on Tuesday that the 274-metre-long Sounion had become “stuck” in the Red Sea.
“The ship is currently on fire and appears to be leaking oil, posing both a navigational hazard and a potential environmental disaster,” he said.
The ship's owner, Greece-based Delta Tankers, said last week it intended to salvage the Sounion and its 150,000 tonnes of crude oil – roughly 1 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Ryder said two tugboats had tried to free the Sounion but the Houthis warned the sailors to stay away and threatened to attack.
“[This] This shows their blatant disregard not only for human life but also for the potential environmental damage this will cause,” he added.
The oil spill came after the Houthi rebels posted a video showing a huge explosion on Sounion island on Friday and claimed their fighters caused it.
The tanker was damaged in a series of attacks by the Houthi rebels last Wednesday, 77 nautical miles west of Yemen's port of Hodeidah.
The following day, ships from the EU's Operation Aspides navy rescued the Sounion's 29 crew members.
An investigation on Monday reported that “at least” five fires had been identified in the Sounion River after Friday's explosion, but that there were “no obvious signs of an oil spill.”
The Houthis have previously sunk two ships, the Rubimaa in February and the Tutar in June, killing four crew members.
But nothing so far has threatened environmental damage on the scale that could occur if the Sounion begins to collapse.
The Houthis claim they are attacking ships linked to Israel, the US and Britain, as well as ships whose owners use Israeli ports.
But many of the targets have few obvious links to the three countries or their owners use Israeli ports.
A representative for Delta Tankers said the company was doing all it could to move the vessel and its cargo but declined to provide further details.