Representatives of the shipping company noted that the Sounion tanker is carrying 150 thousand tons, or 1 million barrels of crude oil and that it is an environmental hazard. The fuel spill could be one of the biggest in history.
“Several countries contacted Ansarullah (Houthis) with a request for a temporary truce to allow tugboats and rescue vessels to enter the incident area, taking into account humanitarian and environmental problems, Ansarullah agreed to the request this,” noted the Iranian mission to the UN in New York.
Yemen’s Houthi spokesman, Mohammed Abdulsalam, told the group on Wednesday that there was no temporary truce and that the group agreed to allow the Sounion oil tanker to sail only after being contacted by several international parties. .
The ship was hit last week by several shells near the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah. There have been conflicting reports of oil leaking from the vessel. However, Reuters has not received independent confirmation that fuel is leaking or spilling from the vessel.
Wow
Sounion oil tanker carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil bombed in Red Sea by Yemeni forces:
pic.twitter.com/yRDLR1fRnF– Leon Simons (well) (@LeonSimons8) August 23, 2024
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that a third party tried to send out two tugboats to rescue the Sounion, but the Houthis threatened to attack them.
“Sounion now sits motionless in the Red Sea, where oil is burning and apparently leaking, a navigational hazard and an environmental disaster,” Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said. , at a briefing.
He said two tugboats were sent by an outside agency to the burning Sounion to help with the rescue, but the Houthis sent them away. He said US Central Command is actively monitoring the situation and coordinating with maritime partners to assist the ship.
2024-08-28 22:59:28
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