Greek tanker still burning in Red Sea, but no oil spill seen: EU

Fires continue to burn on the Greekcrude tanker paralyzed by Iran-backed Houthi militants earlier this month but no oil has been spilled from the vessel, the EU said Aug. 28.

The Suezmax Sounion, when transporting 1 million barrels of Basrah Heavy crude from Iraq to Greece, was hit by multiple projectiles and lost control Aug. 21 and there have been reports of fires and smoke aboard since then.

In a statement on X, Eunavor Aspides, the EU military operation in the Red Sea, said "there's no oil spill, and the ship is still anchored and not drifting" even as fires were detected in several locations on the main deck" since Aug. 23.

The latest statement came after the US Department of Defense said Aug. 27 that the ship appeared "leaking oil" and the UK Maritime Trading Operations earlier on Aug. 28 said a nearby vessel reported the Sounion was "believed to be drifting."

The EU naval mission also called on regional states to help salvage the ship forced to be anchored due to engine failure.

All Western authorities have urged shipping companies to be cautious when operating in the region, as the oil-laden tanker at risk of sinking presents a navigational hazard and potential environmental catastrophe.

In a letter to regional states and all Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres, Eunavor Aspides said the navy is assessing the feasibility of towing Sounion but added it lacks "the specialized equipment or assets for such a task."

"ASPIDES will do its utmost to facilitate this effort ... Successful mitigation will require close coordination and active participation of regional states," according to the letter seen by S&P Global Commodity Insights, echoing a recent call by Djibouti.

Delta Tankers, the Greek firm managing the tanker, said it is "doing everything it can to move" the ship and its cargo but is not in a position to comment further for security reasons.

S&P Global Commodities at Sea data has yet to show any ship traffic disruption due to the incident.

Shipping risks

Yemen-based Houthi militants, claiming to support the Palestinians, have launched attacks on more than 100 ships around the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, and previously two ships sank during the incidents.

Major energy and shipping companies, including BP and Frontline, have altered their routes to sail around Africa to avoid Houthi attacks -- a development that has led to more ton-mile demand and bunker consumption.

Latest IMF PortWatch data showed the average daily ship transits via the Bab al-Mandab Strait stood at 23 in the week ended Aug. 27, down by over a third from a year-ago level of 70.

Commodity Insights' Platts assessed the Suezmax rate for transporting 140,000 metric tons of crude from the Persian Gulf to the UK Continent at $22.23/mt Aug. 28, flat on the day.