The Iran-aligned Houthis have agreed to let salvage crews, including rescue ships and tugboats, access the oil tanker they struck with a missile earlier this month in the Red Sea.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York, as reported by Reuters, said that multiple countries had requested a temporary truce to allow these vessels into the affected area. The Houthis agreed to the request due to humanitarian and environmental concerns, according to the Iranian mission.
Last week, reports indicated that a tanker was burning and drifting in the Red Sea. It was later revealed that the vessel had been attacked by armed groups on small boats about 90 miles from the Yemeni port city of Hodeida. The tanker was also hit by missiles or drones.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations office noted at the time that the vessel was “not under command,” suggesting it had lost all power, but there were no reported casualties.
The Greek-flagged oil tanker, Sounion, was carrying 25 crew members and en route from Iraq to Cyprus. The crew was rescued by a European warship and taken to Djibouti.
This week, U.S. Pentagon officials reported that the Greek tanker struck by the Yemeni Houthis is now leaking oil. Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder stated that the MV Sounion is immobilized in the Red Sea, on fire, and leaking oil. This situation poses a significant navigational hazard and could lead to an environmental disaster, as quoted by the Maritime Executive.
The tanker holds nearly a million barrels of crude oil, and a spill could become one of the largest oil spills from a vessel in recent history.