Houthis’ attack on commercial ships by demanding the end of Israel’s and Western power’s war on Palestine is not something new. Since the advent of Israeli retaliation against Palestine followed by Hamas’ deadly assault on Israel on 7th October, Houthis have commenced their unstoppable airstrike attacks on vessels. Earlier, the Houthi spokesperson even reiterated that they will not stop these series of attacks on ships and vessels until or unless Israel stops its one-sided war on Palestine. Countries like the United States and Britain have launched ‘self-defence strikes’ against the Houthis to stop their disruption in the commercial route, however, it has done only minimal damage to the militia’s strong military infrastructure. Following the turbulence created by Houthi rebels in the region, rerouting of vessels away from the Red Sea route for international trade was a sudden break from the recent past; numerous ships were hesitant to take the Suez Canal route given the high possibility of being at the receiving end of Houthi attacks, thus taken an extra 4,000 miles around Africa, causing higher transportation cost and taken more days in in each direction in reaching the destination. The Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb strait are critical choke points for the global economy because the total oil exchange via these routes is estimated almost 12% of total seaborne-traded oil in the early half of 2023, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments accounted for a large portion of total LNG trade around the world (US Energy Information Administration, December 4, 2023).
A recent attack on the ‘Sounion’ tanker raises alarming concerns, given the fact that the ship was carrying 1,50,000 metric tons of oil and its spillage into the ocean would severely lead to a grave ‘ecological disaster’ (August 24, 2024). Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree clarified they unleashed their attack on a Greek-flagged vessel because ‘Delta Tankers’, the operator of the ship, violated its ban on entry to the ports of occupied Palestine. If the previous attacks on ships such as British ship the Rubymar (February 18, 2024) and MV Tutor (June 12, 2024), had not had a devastating effect on the marine life, aquatic life, coral leaf and diverse ecosystem because these ships were carrying fertilizers and dry oil embargo that blessed us from not resulting in leakage of oil into the ocean. The well-planned attacks by Houthis not only disrupt international trade commerce but also kill the hopes of Yemeni fishermen who rely on these seashores for their earnings and livelihood. US State Department Spokesperson, Matthew Miller said in a statement that Houthis attacks are going to cost four times the size of the ‘Exxon Valdez spill’ in 1989 that spilled more than 2,50,000 barrels of oil along the coast of Alaska. The statement further mentions that Houthis tried to sink the cargo into the sea though the crew were evacuated immediately. Similarly, after conducting a Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) operation in the Red Sea when MV Sounion came under Houthi attack, the EU Aspides task force informed X that the vessel caught on fire which subsequently led to mass-scale spillage of crude oil into the sea (EUNAVFOR ASPIDES on X , August 24, 2024).
When we look back to history, the largest ship-caused oil spill incident occurred in 1979, as a result of a collision between the vessel Atlantic Empress and a crude carrier, Aegean Captain in the Caribbean Sea, a few miles off the coast of Tobago due to a heavy storm that caused spillage of approximately 2,87,000 tonnes of oil into the ocean (Atlantic Empress incident, 1979 – ITOPF). After ceasing the turbulent situation, extinguishing the fire on oil tanks and bringing Aegean Captain under control, the ship was eventually pulled to the shores of Curacao, where the last of its cargo was released. A nominal shore pollution was reported on neighbouring islands, either because adequate impact studies were not conducted or because the situation was brought under control by the coordinated and immediate efforts of the concerned authorities. Time will reveal what will be the extent and degree of environmental haphazard as well as its consequence on global trade architecture that is going to be churned out by targeted attacks on the commercial vessels by Houthis shortly.
Regarding the natural corollaries of these attacks, one part is loud and clear; The turbulent situation on the Red Sea would indeed cause severe destructible effects on diverse spheres including but not limited to biodiversity loss, marine environment catastrophe, right to freedom of navigation, import of food supplies, livelihood of both seafarers and Yemeni fishing communities, etc. Winston Churchill once fascinatingly said “History is written by victors.” In contemporary times, this raises two questions: First, who will be the ‘victor’? and second, who will write the ‘history’ of ‘whom’? Ultimately, the question becomes who will prevail – ‘Israel’ or the ‘Houthis’? Nevertheless, I would argue that neither side will emerge as the definitive winner; instead, it is likely that powerful global countries will influence their future and destiny.
Most importantly, the puzzle arises when Houthis try to justify their attacks on vessels passing through the Red Sea as a means of their resistance to achieve their ultimate end of Palestinian’s ‘right to self-determination’. Can such acts in solidarity of liberation movement be justified at the cost of causing an environmental catastrophe? I must say, these are questions and topics that make you uncomfortable to discuss, but we need to address and talk about them properly. In my understanding, though we don’t have the right to advise them how to fight for their liberation, I have my reservation with the current Houthi attacks as they serve their purpose at the cost of innocent lives and lead to serious disturbances in global trade, as well as dire environmental consequences of oil spills.
