A ship-to-ship transfer of the crude oil cargo from the cargo tanks on the damaged tanker Sounion began today in Egypt more than two months after the Houthis badly damaged the vessel and set off fears of an oil spill catastrophe. Sources from Egypt’s Shipping Ministry told the news outlet ANA that the operation is expected to last between three and four weeks.
The damaged tanker was moved into the Suez anchorage south of the Suez Canal a week ago after approximately 20 files burning on the deck of the tanker were extinguished. EUNAVOF Aspides provided security for the vessel when towing began on September 14 and it was moved to a more secure location north of Yemen and closer to Eritrea. Salvage crews worked for approximately six weeks to dowse the fires reporting that they were mostly in the tank hatches.
Egyptian officials however told the media the concern is that the tanker’s structural integrity was compromised by the attacks on August 21 and then the later explosions set off by the Houthi on the deck. The rebels also destroyed the bridge of the tanker while the initial attacks had left the vessel without power. Egyptian officials said one of the concerns is that without power the vessel has no means of maintaining stability.
Delta Tankers of Greece which manages the Sounion dispatched another of the company’s crude oil tankers to Egypt as part of the operation. The Delta Blue (158,322 dwt) was sent from Greece and arrived early last week in Egypt in anticipation of the operation.
According to the reports, salvage crews boarded the Sounion (163,759 dwt) with portable pumps and rigged the vessels for the transfer. The Sounion was loaded with over 150,000 tons of crude oil (1 million barrels) it had taken on in Iraq. It was believed to be heading for Rotterdam when it was attacked. The crew of the tanker was safely evacuated by French naval forces the day after the initial attack.
The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks on merchant shipping although the pace has been dramatically slowed over the past two months. Yesterday, the leader of the rebel group Abdul Malik al-Houthi said the U.S. election of Donald Trump would not impact the group’s determination to attack Israel and merchant ships.
In a statement issued at the beginning of the week, the Houthis said they would, “continue to impose a naval blockade on the Israeli enemy and target all vessels belonging to it, associated with it or bound for it, and this blockade will continue until the aggression stops, the blockade of the Gaza Strip is lifted and the aggression against Lebanon is stopped.” They said the attacks would target ships regardless of their ownership warning companies not to acquire ships associated with Israel as they would continue to be a target.
