Houthis to allow access to stricken Red Sea tanker amid fears of huge oil spill

Yemen’s Houthi group has agreed to allow tugboats and rescue ships to access a damaged crude oil tanker in the Red Sea, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said, after the Iranian-aligned militants attacked the Greek-flagged vessel last week.
The Sounion tanker is carrying 150,000 tonnes, or 1m barrels, of crude oil and poses an environmental hazard, shipping officials said. Any spill has the potential to be among the largest from a ship in recorded history.
“Several countries have reached out to … request a temporary truce for the entry of tugboats and rescue ships into the incident area,” Iran’s UN mission in New York said, adding that the Houthis had consented to the request, in consideration of “humanitarian and environmental concerns”.
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam denied on Wednesday there would be a temporary truce, telling Reuters that the group only agreed to allow the towing of oil tanker Sounion after several international parties contacted the group.
The Pentagon said on Tuesday a third party had tried to send two tugs to help salvage the Sounion, but the Houthis threatened to attack them.
In a statement on Wednesday, Iran’s UN mission said “the failure to provide aid and prevent an oil spill in the Red Sea stems from the negligence of certain countries, rather than concerns over the possibility of being targeted.”
The Sounion was targeted last week by multiple projectiles off Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah. There have been seemingly conflicting reports about oil escaping from the ship, but on Wednesday, the European Union’s mission in the Red Sea said there was no oil spill in the waters near the Greek-flagged tanker.
The EU mission, called Aspides, added that the Sounion was still anchored and not drifting.
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that the tanker was still on fire in the Red Sea and appeared to be leaking oil.
The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous regions, began aerial drone and missile strikes on the Red Sea in November in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. In over 70 attacks, they have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least three seafarers.