Barely one day after announcing that an operation to rescue a burning, abandoned tanker in the Red Sea was on, European Union authorities said on Tuesday that the private salvors entrusted with the operation pulled back due to safety concerns.
The EU’s naval force’s operation Aspides, which provides security to the tug boats entrusted with towing the 163,800-dwt Sounion (built 2006), said in a social media post that other ways are being looked at to prevent an oil spill and environmental disaster in the region.
“The private companies responsible for the salvage operation have concluded that [the] conditions were not met to conduct the towing operation and that it was not safe to proceed,” Aspides said on X.
“Alternative solutions are now being explored by the private companies,” the EU force added.
Aspides has not identified the salvage companies or ships involved in the operation.
The 15,000-bhp Gladiator (built 1977) and 5,150-bhp Hercules (built 2009) are believed to be involved.
Well-known salvors recently engaged in Red Sea work, such as Boskalis or Tsavliris Salvage, are not involved in the effort.
Market sources told TradeWinds that no Lloyd’s Open Form had been signed for the business until Monday and that the ship’s insurers may have attempted to hire salvors directly.
Managers of Delta Tankers, the Sounion’s owner, did not respond to a request for comment.
A senior official of the Houthis, whose forces targeted the Sounion with missiles on 21 August and then set its deck ablaze later in the month, said last week that they would allow tugboats to tow the tanker.
Contrary to previous reports by US Pentagon officials and by authorities in Greece, whose flag the Sounion is flying, Aspides reiterated that there is no visible oil spill from the Delta Tankers suezmax, which carries close to 1m barrels of Iraqi crude.
However, the risk of an oil spill continues to be “significant”, as “several fires” were continuing to burn on the vessel’s main deck on Monday.
