(Dubai) A 220-kilometre oil slick has been spotted off the coast of Yemen after a Houthi rebel attack damaged an oil tanker this week, an environmental NGO said on Wednesday.
Images from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite on Tuesday showed a slick near where the Houthis attacked the ship. Chios Lionadded the British-based NGO Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS).
The slick suggests that “the damaged ship is leaking oil,” CEOBS said in a message posted on the social network X, estimating that it stretched 220 km long.
The oil tanker Chios Lionflying the Liberian flag, was attacked on Monday 97 nautical miles (about 180 km) northwest of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah.
An unmanned vessel “struck” the tanker, causing minor damage, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, run by the British Navy, reported.
According to CEOBS, the oil slick formed 106 nautical miles (about 196 km) northwest of Hodeidah, which corresponds to the location of Monday’s attack on the Chios Lionhe added.
On Tuesday, the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), run by a Western naval coalition, said the Chios Lion was investigating a possible oil spill.
Yemeni rebels have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November in a campaign they say is intended to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been at war since October 7 with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
“The continued strikes on various oil, chemical and cargo ships not only endanger maritime personnel and maritime traffic in general, but also seriously damage the ecosystems of the Red Sea,” warned Wim Zwijnenburg of the Dutch peace-promoting NGO PAX.
“The current strikes pose an additional threat to Yemen’s environment and coastal communities,” he said.