Salvage of stricken oil tanker in Red Sea expected soon, sources say

By Renee Maltezou and Yannis Souliotis

ATHENS (Reuters) -A salvage operation to recover a Greek-registered oil tanker stranded ablaze in the Red Sea after an attack by Houthi militants is expected to start in the coming days, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

The Sounion, which the Houthis and maritime sources have said has been rigged with explosives, is laden with about 1 million barrels of crude oil.

If a spill occurs, it has the potential to be among the largest from a ship in recorded history and could cause an environmental catastrophe in an area that is particularly dangerous to access.

"What was decided yesterday is an initial game plan, of the operation starting in 48 hours," one of the sources said.

A second source said the operation was likely to be complex, given Houthis have planted explosives on board.

Greece said in a letter circulated through the U.N. shipping agency on Friday that what it called a "potential spill" of 2.2 nautical miles (4.2 km) in length had been detected in the area matching the location of the Sounion in the Red Sea.

However, an official with the European Union's ASPIDES naval monitoring mission told Reuters that the potential spill was from the vessel’s engine and not from the oil cargo onboard.

"The potential spill is from the tanker's engine after the first hit,” the ASPIDES official said.

Greece urged "all nations and all actors involved to assist in preventing the environmental hazard and resolving the situation the soonest possible" in its letter dated Aug. 29 and published on Friday by the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization.

Yemen's Houthi militants carried out multiple assaults, including planting bombs on the already disabled 900-foot (274-metre) Sounion, which is operated by Athens-based Delta Tankers.

On Wednesday, the Iran-aligned militants said they would allow salvage teams to tow the ship - which has been on fire since Aug. 23 - to safety. The ship's crew has been evacuated.

The sources said the priority of the operation - to decide whether to tow the vessel to a port or arrange a transfer of its cargo - depended on an inspection of the vessel.

"It is not an easy task, transferring the oil cargo to another ship, when there are explosives on it," said one of the sources. "In any case, ASPIDES ships will protect and escort the vessel to a safe port."

Greece has also been in touch with Saudi Arabia, a key player in the region, to ask for assistance.

"Delta Tankers is doing everything it can to move the vessel (and cargo). For security reasons, we are not in a position to comment further," a spokesperson for the tanker operator said.

There had been conflicting accounts earlier in the week over whether the Sounion had started leaking its cargo.

"Houthis have agreed to allow its towing because at the end of the day any environmental disaster would affect their region," said a shipping industry source.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou, Yannis Souliotis, Jonathan Saul and Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Louise Heavens and Alison Williams)