Three tankers belonging to the same Greek company were attacked by terrorists in August. Now the consequences could be devastating.
The attacks by the Houthi rebels on merchant ships in the Red Sea are not only damaging world trade, but are also a major threat to the homeland of the terrorists from Yemen. But because they are not very interested, the Red Sea is on the brink of the biggest environmental disaster in decades. The tanker “Sounion”, loaded with around 1 million barrels of crude oil, was first attacked by the Houthi a few days ago and then set on fire.
The crew was able to be evacuated from the ship, which was unable to maneuver, but fires have been raging on the deck of the 274-meter-long tanker since August 23. What’s more, images published by the terrorists show how they themselves triggered explosions on board the abandoned tanker just a few days ago. This was apparently with the aim of sinking the ship.
A top spot among the biggest oil disasters
In another video released on Friday, several fires and damage to the hull can be seen. Satellite images suggest that fuel is also leaking from the ship – although perhaps not from the cargo holds, but from its own tank.
A sinking of the “Sounion” would be the third successful sinking since the rebels began their attacks at the end of 2023. It would be the most devastating for the environment: If the approximately 1 million barrels of oil were to enter the sea, according to experts, this would correspond to about four times the amount released in the catastrophic accident of the “Exxon Valdez” off Alaska in 1989.
It would also be more than half the amount that ended up at sea in the world’s largest tanker sinking to date. In 1979, the “Atlantic Empress” got caught in a storm in the Caribbean and sank after a collision. There is one thing in common between the “Atlantic Empress” and the “Sounion”: they were both owned by Greeks.
In the case of the “Sounion”, the shipping company Delta Tankers was not hit as unexpectedly as the storm that surprised the owners of the “Atlantic Empress”. In August, the Houthi rebels had already fired on two other Delta oil tankers. Before the “Sounion”, the “Delta Blue” and the “Delta Atlantica” had already come under the crosshairs of drones and missiles, but escaped more lightly.
There is a connection to Israel
At least there is growing hope that the damage to the “Sounion” will not escalate into a catastrophe. After the Houthi rebels initially prevented a rescue team from approaching the ship, they have now apparently given their consent.
Still, one question remains: What causes Delta Tankers to keep sending its ships past the rebels’ guns despite the obvious threat?
Since the Houthi rebels began their attacks on merchant ships in late 2023, many freighters and tankers have avoided the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen, from where the terrorists operate. Instead of using the Suez Canal, the ships are now taking a detour around South Africa. This has driven up international freight prices sharply. The terrorists claim that their attacks are intended to disrupt supplies to Israel and thus support Palestine.
On August 30, this video was released by the rebels. It shows the damage to the tanker.
Apparently, another Delta Tankers ship did indeed dock in the port of Haifa at the beginning of July. However, Delta apparently felt safe enough to continue sending its fleet through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. The Athens-based shipping company says it maintains a fleet of 29 tankers. The company does not wish to comment further on the incidents in the Red Sea.
Many take the safe detour – but not all
The shipping company, founded in 2006, is not alone in choosing this risky route. The route through the Red Sea, one of the most important trade routes in the world, is far less busy than normal, but not deserted. Fewer than 20 normal cargo ships pass through the Strait of Bab al-Mandab every day. Before the attacks began, there were around 50. But despite their more dangerous cargo, up to 10 tankers still manage to get through. Although this is significantly less than the 25 previously counted, it is still a large number of highly flammable targets.
This may be due to the shipowners’ calculation that they want to save the high costs of the detour around the Cape of Good Hope because their tankers might be spared by the Houthis. Ships loaded with Iranian oil are probably not likely to be attacked – after all, Iran is the main supporter and supplier of terrorists. Delta Tankers was accused of smuggling Iranian oil to Venezuela a few years ago. However, the shipping company was not sanctioned.
Likewise, tankers carrying Russian crude oil do not appear to be at risk in principle. According to observations by the think tank The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where ships with links to Russia have been attacked, it was evidently a case of confusion because the rebels were not aware of the latest ownership details. Russia has built up a shadow fleet of tankers in order to be able to sell its oil as widely as possible despite Western sanctions due to the war of aggression against Ukraine.
Did Delta feel safe as a smuggler?
Delta Tankers also has a blemish-free record when it comes to Russia. Ukraine put the company, like several other Greek shipping companies, on its list of “international supporters of the war.” This was partly because they refused to always switch on the transponders on their tankers and to refrain from transferring cargo from ship to ship – popular ways to cover up traces of the transport of crude oil. According to a Ukrainian analysis, Greek shipping companies played a major role in Russian oil exports.
However, neither the possible connections to Russia nor those to Iran have protected the Delta tankers in recent weeks. Perhaps they were too confident: in these uncertain waters, the role of friend and foe can change quickly. After all, it was Iranian soldiers who boarded another of the shipping company’s tankers, the “Delta Poseidon”, in the Persian Gulf in spring 2022.
The sensational action, in which a second Greek ship was also occupied, was a retaliation by Tehran. Greek authorities had previously seized a tanker carrying Iranian oil; the USA was also involved. Conversely, the Greek ships had oil from Iraq on board – and Tehran does not have a good opinion of this neighbor. To avoid such incidents, there is only one way for shipowners, even if it is expensive: avoid the area as much as possible.