Sounion salvors prep next stage in race to avert Red Sea environmental disaster

Satellite images confirm the burning Sounion’s new location, 81 km offshore Eritrea in the Red Sea following a delicate towing operation over the weekend.

The Delta Tankers vessel remains on fire, according to images sent to gCaptain, an American maritime news title, taken from a nearby vessel yesterday afternoon.

Sources suggest Saudi Arabia will now provide funding for some of the next stages of the salvage operation, which will start by trying to douse the laden vessel before embarking on a ship-to-ship transfer operation to remove the 1.1m barrels of Iraqi heavy crude onboard.

The tanker was hit by multiple projectiles from the Houthis of Yemen on August 21, with the crew evacuating and the Houthis then boarding the Sounion and detonating a series of explosives.