Houthi-hit Sounion finally arrives at Suez to start cargo transfer
The future of the heavily damaged Delta Tankers suezmax is not clear, but salvors aim to rescue as much as 90% of the cargo
After 49 days of fires, a technically perilous salvage operation and diplomatic delays, the Houthi-hit Sounion has finally arrived at Suez port limits ready to start the second phase of the operation to save its cargo of 1m barrels of Iraqi crude
THE Greece-flagged suezmax Sounion (IMO: 9312145), which was left burning for 49 days after Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, has arrived at Suez, where it will begin a lengthy operation to offload what is left of the 1m barrels of Iraqi crude oil it is carrying.
The cargo transfer operation is expected to take another four to six weeks to complete, after which the heavily damaged tanker will be towed in ballast to an as yet undisclosed location for further assessment.
It is not yet known whether the tanker is going to be declared a constructive total loss.
The operation to get the Delta Tankers-operated tanker as far as Suez outer port limits after the initial salvage operation extinguished the fires earlier this month has been fraught with technical and diplomatic hurdles.
Sounion was initially towed to the Eritrean coast to give salvors the best chance of extinguishing the 18 separate fires caused when the Houthis set explosive charges along the length of the deck of the laden tanker once they had boarded the vessel after the initial attack.
The state of the tanker earlier had ignited fears about the potential for one of history’s worst tanker spills taking place in the Red Sea — a situation that then resulted in further delays.
Lloyd’s List understand that plans to tow the damaged tanker north to Suez were initially blocked by the Saudi Arabian administration, which required extensive assurances regarding the tanker’s condition, amid fears about potential damage to the Kingdom’s desalination plants.
While Sounion has been towed into position outside Suez port limits, it has been moving with its Automatic Identification System tracker switched off. The tanker’s progress, however, has been tracked via the 10,000 bhp offshore salvage tug Aigaion Pelagos (IMO: 9477012), from the Greece-based Megatugs Salvage & Towage fleet, which has led the operation.
Lloyd’s List understands that the cargo transfer operation will start within the next few days, but could take up to six weeks to complete, depending on technical difficulties and the condition of the vessel.
Despite the weeks of fires burning across the tanker’s deck, it is understood that the majority of the 150,000 tonnages of Iraqi crude remains in place and experts suggest less than 10% is likely to have burned off.
