今年8月，悬挂希腊国旗的油轮MV Sounion在胡塞叛军的袭击中严重受损，目前已经开始在埃及苏伊士港的安全停泊处转运100多万桶石油。

根据埃及航运部的说法，转移预计需要三到四周的时间，以防止发生类似于1989年埃克森瓦尔迪兹号油轮历史性漏油事件的环境灾难。

苏尼翁号于2024年8月21日在胡塞武装控制的也门荷台达港口附近遭到袭击。

这艘船着火了，失去了动力，需要进行大规模的消防和救援行动。袭击发生后不久，在法国海军的帮助下，该船的25名船员被安全疏散。

也门***武装声称对此次袭击负责，称他们引爆了油轮甲板上的***，造成了额外的火灾和结构损坏，有可能导致石油泄漏。

该船的舰桥破坏和结构损坏引发了人们对其稳定性的担忧。

这艘油轮在从也门沿海高风险地区转移到苏伊士期间，受到欧盟海军行动的严密监视。

救援人员花了数周时间扑灭船上的大火，主要是在油罐舱口附近。管理MV Sounion的德尔塔油轮公司（Delta Tankers）派出了另一艘油轮德尔塔蓝号（Delta Blue）来协助石油转运。

转移开始于2024年10月7日，包括将石油从受损的油轮泵到Delta Blue，这将降低大规模泄漏的风险。

官员们讨论了在整个过程中进行密切监视的重要性，并列举了与MV Sounion缺乏电力相关的风险。

这艘油轮的航行引起了人们的关注，虽然它最初是从伊拉克开往新加坡的，但不知何故，这艘船最终进入了红海，这对希腊商船部的一些消息人士来说似乎很神秘。

这次航行导致了欧盟海事安全机构的进一步调查。

胡塞武装在该地区对商船的恐怖袭击加剧，以报复以色列在加沙的行动。尽管这些船只中的大多数与冲突没有直接联系，但胡塞声称，他们的海军封锁目标是与以色列、美国和英国有关的船只。

自去年10月加沙冲突开始以来，胡塞武装已向商船发射了80多枚导弹和无人机袭击，击沉了两艘，造成多艘受损。

美国及其盟友对胡塞武装在也门的据点进行了空袭。

石油转移行动避免了一场可能对该地区造成毁灭性影响的灾难，专家此前警告说，MV Sounion的破裂或爆炸可能导致比埃克森瓦尔迪兹号事件严重四倍的石油泄漏。

1989年3月24日，埃克森瓦尔迪兹号油轮在阿拉斯加威廉王子湾发生漏油事件。这艘名为埃克森·瓦尔迪兹的油轮驶向加利福尼亚州长滩，途中撞上了阿拉斯加塔蒂特克以西约6英里的布莱礁，导致在接下来的3天里发生了大规模的石油泄漏，约1000万加仑的原油泄漏到水中。

▲Image Credits: EUNAVFOR ASPIDES/X

英文原文

The Greek-flagged oil tanker MV Sounion, severely damaged by a Houthi rebel attack in August, has begun transferring its cargo of over a million barrels of oil at a safe berth in the port of Suez, Egypt.



Per Egypt’s Shipping Ministry, the transfer is expected to take three to four weeks to prevent an environmental disaster that could have been similar to the historic 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.



The Sounion was attacked on August 21, 2024, near Yemen’s Hodeidah port, controlled by Houthi rebels.



The ship caught fire, lost power, and necessitated extensive firefighting and salvage operations.  Shortly after the attack, the vessel’s 25 crew members were safely evacuated with the help of French Naval forces.



Yemeni rebels claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that they had detonated charges on the tankers’ deck, causing additional fires and structural damage that posed risks for an oil spill.



The vessel’s bridge destruction and structural damage have raised concerns about its stability.



The tanker was closely monitored by security provided by the European Union Naval Operation while it was transferred from a high-risk area off Yemen’s coast to Suez.



Salvage crews worked for weeks to extinguish the fire onboard, mainly around the tank hatches.  Delta Tankers, the company managing the Sounion, dispatched another tanker, the Delta Blue, to facilitate the oil transfer.



The transfer began on October 7, 2024, and involves pumping oil from the damaged tanker to Delta Blue, which will reduce the risk of a large-scale spill.



The officials discussed the importance of close surveillance throughout the process, citing risks associated with the lack of power on the Sounion.



The tanker’s journey has raised concerns, while it was initially destined for Singapore from Iraq, the vessel somehow ended up in the Red Sea, which seems mysterious to some sources from the Greece Merchant Marine Ministry.



The journey has led to further inquiries from the European Union’s maritime safety agency.



The Houthi terrorist attacks in the region have intensified on commercial vessels in retaliation to Israel’s operations in Gaza.  Although most of these vessels have no direct ties to the conflict, Houthis claim that their naval blockade targets ships associated with Israel, the U.S., and the U.K.



Since the start of the conflict in Gaza last October, the Houthis have launched over 80 missiles and drone attacks on commercial ships, sinking two and damaging many.



The U.S. and its allies have responded with airstrikes targeting Houthi strongholds in Yemen.



The oil transfer operation is averting a disaster that could have had a devastating impact on the region, with experts previously warning that a break-up or explosion on the Sounion could have resulted in an oil spill four times larger than the Exxon Valdez Incident.



The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Alaska’s Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989.  The oil tanker named Exxon Valdez, heading to Long Beach, California, hit Bligh Reef, about six miles west of Tatitlek, Alaska, which resulted in a massive oil spill over the next 3 days, spilling about 10 million gallons of crude oil into the water.

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