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Red Sea Crisis

The latest news and commentary on how the conflict in the Middle East is affecting the global maritime industry and shipping markets.

Houthis allow Sounion recovery plan

Iran's mission to the United Nations said Houthi authorities have given the go-ahead to recovery teams to attend the 164,000dwt crude carrier MV Sounion, which is currently adrift off Hodeidah in the southern Red Sea.

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Image: EUNAVFOR ASPIDES

The vessel was first hit by Houthi missiles on 21 August, causing the loss of power and resulting in the crew abandoning the ship. Subsequent missile hits two days later caused fires to break out on board.

UKMTO said a passing vessel reported the ship as drifting, but a subsequent Twitter post by EUNAVFOR ASPIDES said its assets in the region had confirmed there was no oil spill from the ship, and that it was still anchored and not drifting.

The vessel is loaded with 150,000 tonnes of crude oil and is considered an environmental and navigational hazard. A loss of cargo containment could potentially result in one of the largest oil spills form a ship in history.

"Several countries have reached out to Ansarullah (the Houthis), requesting a temporary truce for the entry of tugboats and rescue ships into the incident area," Iran's UN mission in New York said.

"In consideration of humanitarian and environmental concerns, Ansarullah has consented to this request," it said.

However, Mohammed Abdulsalam, a Houthi spokesperson, told Reuters on yesterday there is no temporary truce, the group has only agreed to allow the towing of the oil tanker after international parties contacted the group.

The Houthis attacked Sounion with drone and missile strikes.

Related:Houthi drone attacks and hijackings - Who controls the seas?

Reuters reported that Pentagon officials had said on Tuesday that a third party had tried to send two tugs to help salvage Sounion, but the Houthis threatened to attack them.

Iran's UN mission denied this, however: "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."

EUNAVFOR ASPIDES said it was "preparing to facilitate any courses of action, in coordination with European authorities and neighboring countries, to avert a catastrophic environmental crisis, thereby contributing to the protection of global goods."

About the Authors

Nick Savvides

Europe correspondent

Experienced journalist working online, in monthly magazines and daily news coverage. Nick Savvides began his journalistic career working as a freelance from his flat in central London, and has since worked in Athens, while also writing for some major publications including The Observer, The European, Daily Express and Thomson Reuters. 

Most recently Nick joined The Loadstar as the publication’s news editor to develop the profile of the publication, increase its readership and to build a team that will market, sell and report on supply chain issues and container shipping news. 

This was a similar brief to his time at ci-online, the online publication for Containerisation International and Container News. During his time at ci-online Nich developed a team of freelancers and full-time employees increasing its readership substantially. He then moved to International Freighting Weekly, a sister publication, IFW also focused on container shipping, rail and trucking and ports. Both publications were published by Informa. 

Following his spell at Informa Nick joined Reed’s chemical reporting team, ICIS, as the chemical tanker reporter. While at ICIS he also reported on the chemical industry and spent some time on the oil & gas desk. 

Nick has also worked for a time at Lloyd’s Register, which has an energy division, and his role was writing their technical magazine, before again becoming a journalist at The Naval Architect for the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. After eight successful years at RINA, he joined Fairplay, which published a fortnightly magazine and daily news on the website.

Nick's time at Fairplay saw him win the Seahorse Club Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year 2018 awards.

After Fairplay closed, Nick joined an online US start-up called FreightWaves. 

Gary Howard

Middle East correspondent

Gary Howard is the Middle East Correspondent for Seatrade Maritime News and has written for Seatrade Cruise, Seatrade Maritime Review and was News Editor at Lloyd’s List. Gary’s maritime career started after catching the shipping bug during a research assignment for the offshore industry. Working out of Seatrade's head office in the UK, he also produces and contributes to conference programmes for Seatrade events including CMA Shipping, Seatrade Maritime Logistics Middle East and Marintec. 

Gary’s favourite topics within the maritime industry are decarbonisation and wind-assisted propulsion; he particularly enjoys reporting from industry events.

Conferences & Webinars

Gary Howard regularly moderates at international maritime events. Below you’ll find a list of selected past conferences and webinars.

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