Houthi Video Shows How Fighters Planted Bombs on Red Sea Tanker

Yemen’s Houthi rebels released a video on Thursday showing their fighters planting explosives on a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea.

The footage, which captures the moment of detonation, has heightened concerns about a potential environmental disaster as the damaged vessel now risks causing a massive oil spill in one of the world’s most strategic waterways.

It is believed the ship was carrying around one million barrels of oil.

Named after the location of Poseidon’s Temple, the Sounion was initially attacked on August 21, as the Iran-backed Houthis targeted it with small arms fire, projectiles, and a drone boat.

Their strategy for international disruption has escalated in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The Associated Press reported that in the video, the Houthis chant their motto as the bombs are detonated aboard the oil tanker: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”

The Sounion was eventually abandoned by its crew, who were rescued by a French destroyer operating under the European Union’s Operation Aspides. The crew, including 25 Filipinos, Russians, and four private security personnel, were safely transported to Djibouti.

In releasing this video, the Houthis provide the first visual confirmation of their presence on the vessel after it was deserted.

Armed with Kalashnikov rifles, the fighters are seen rigging explosives over the tanker’s hatches, leading to simultaneous blasts that further damaged the ship.

They purport their attacks are in support of Palestine, and only seek to target those they believe to be facilitating the progress of Israel.

The Red Sea is a critical waterway through which approximately $1 trillion in goods passes each year. Disruptions in this region can have wide-reaching economic and environmental impacts.

Western powers and the United Nations have expressed grave concerns about the environmental fallout from the detonation.

A significant oil spill could devastate the fragile marine ecosystems in the Red Sea, home to some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs. The European Union’s naval force in the region says it has yet to see any oil spill from the Sounion.

Efforts are underway to mitigate potential damages as Operation Aspides is preparing to assist in preventing an environmental catastrophe.

U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric praised the international community’s efforts, along with those of U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, for “securing immediate access to the vessel and preventing an environmental disaster.” He also noted that the Houthis have consented to allow the operation to proceed safely.

The situation mirrors past Houthi tactics, where the threat of an oil spill has been used to their advantage in a broader conflict.

In 2023, after years of negotiations, the United Nations managed to extract one million barrels of oil from the Safer tanker, another vessel held by the Houthis off the coast of Yemen amid the civil war in the country. The Safer had been deteriorating, posing a similar risk of environmental disaster.

The U.S. State Department referred AP to its earlier remarks comparing the potential spill from the Sounion to the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989, which released over 250,000 barrels of oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

Officials have urged caution, warning that the Houthis’ continued attacks could have far-reaching consequences.

“Experience has shown that the group is willing to interfere with salvage efforts if they can turn the situation into a political bargaining chip,” said Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near-East Policy who has studied the ongoing Houthi attacks.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.