Salvors Complete Transfer of Oil from Tanker Damaged by Houthis
More than three months after the Houthi attack on the laden tanker Sounion had threatened the worst oil spill in history the damaged tanker has been successfully unloaded. The threat of the spill is over, but the tanker is heavily damaged and the attack raised new concerns of the scope of the Houthi efforts.
Officials from Greece’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Island Policy confirmed the removal of the oil has been completed at the anchorage south of the Suez Canal. The operators of the tanker, Delta Tankers of Greece, had sent another vessel, Delta Blue, to receive the oil. One of her AIS signals suggests the tanker might as early as today be moving into the queue to begin the northbound transit of the Suez Canal.
The Ministry said the salvage operation had been underway since October 7 when a specialized team of 27 people began work to stop 18 fires set by the Houthis after the vessel was abandoned. They emphasized the operation was made more challenging because the fires which had been burning for more than a month had “fatigued” the metal plates of the tanker.
In addition, there is no power aboard the Sounion. The initial Houthi attack on August 21 had damaged the engine room of the tanker and left it disabled. The subsequent effort at setting off explosives on the vessel also destroyed the navigation bridge and possibly other control areas. The salvage team had to use portable pumps.
The Sounion was towed in mid-September from the location in Red Sea where it was disabled and after the fires were extinguished the Egyptians agreed to receive the vessel for the next phase of the salvage operation. The Delta Blue reached the Suez Anchorage on October 29 having been sent from Piraeus.
The pumping operation began in early November after the vessel was stabilized. Egyptian officials estimated it would take three to four weeks to fully offload 150,000 tons of crude loaded in Iraq from the Sounion.
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