Satellite images show worrying 4 km trail from burning Sounion
Source: Splash247
The Houthis yesterday released footage of a group of militants boarding the Greek Sounion oil tanker in the Red Sea and detonating explosives.
The dramatic video shows multiple explosives being laid across the ship. The Delta Tankers suezmax was attacked nine days ago, with its crew evacuating. Last Friday, the Houthis boarded the laden vessel and wired up explosives with the ship having been on fire ever since.
Tracking the casualty closely, Salvatore Mercogliano, an associate professor of history at Campbell University in the US, citing new satellite imagery, has warned that the fires on deck are spreading with increasing intensity. There appear to be 15 different fires now on deck, up from six on Monday.
“There also appears to be a sheen coming from the engine compartment and some from up forward, indicating that fuel and oil may now be leaking into the Red Sea,” Mercogliano noted in a social media post.
BlackSky, a space-based intelligence company, has also detailed a 4 km visible trail on the surface of the water extending from the stern.
Tugs Gladiator and Hercules are in the Gulf of Aden on standby to conduct the salvage of the stricken ship, which was carrying 150,000 tonnes of Iraqi crude when it was attacked last week.
The badly damaged ship risks spilling four times as much oil as the Exxon Valdez, arguably tanker shipping’s most famous casualty, potentially becoming the fifth worst oil spill of all time, according to statistics carried by the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF).
The original article: Splash247 .
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