# Environmental impact of the Red Sea crisis

The Red Sea Crisis increases the environmental risks in the region. The Red Sea is an important area for many reasons. For example, due to its important shipping route connecting Asia with Europe, because its coral reef is the only reef that is surviving the rising temperatures of the oceans, and because the area provides millions of people with food and drinking water, and sea pollution would harm the region.

## Increase in Green House Gas emissions

Due to the crisis, many shipping companies have chosen to reroute their container ships around the Cape of Good Hope to lower their risks of being attacked. The longer shipping route increases the journey by 29%, and the greenhouse gas emissions increase by up to 70% if the ship is sailing from Southeast Asia to Northern Europe, approximately 8.8 million tonnes of CO₂ a year. The reroute results in ships sailing longer and faster to make up for the longer route and reduce shipping delays, increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

#### Carbon leaking

The European Union requires shipping companies to pay for their emissions, and the longer routes increase how much they have to pay. The Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) is a carbon pricing scheme where ships must pay 50% of their emissions that start or end in the European Union. Since the ships are now travelling further, they have to pay more, and some ships have begun adding a stop before entering the European Union. They unload their cargo and load it back onto a new ship that continues to the destination to bring down the amount they have to pay for their emissions.

## Oil spills
##### FSO Safer

Until 2015, the Yemen Oil and Gas Corporation (owned by the Yemeni government) had control over and provided maintenance to the FSO Safer, which was moored off the coast of Yemen and functioned as a floating production storage and offloading vessel. After 2015, the Houthis took control of the area, and the Yemen Oil and Gas Corporation lost control of the vessel. The vessel ultimately fell into disrepair as it was no longer receiving maintenance. The lack of maintenance led to the vessel corroding and becoming an imminent threat of exploding or spilling over 1.1 million barrels of oil. Due to the vessel being under Houthi control, international stakeholders could not access the vessel for maintenance or repairs without Houthi permission. There were instances where the Houthis gave permission and took it back before the repairs could be made, which complicated the efforts to repair the vessel.
To prevent the imminent oil spill due to corrosion, the United Nations Development Programme purchased the vessel as the first step in the salvaging operations. Several countries then sponsored the oil offloading, including Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States and others. After 2 years of negotiations, the oil was offloaded onto a different vessel and completed in August 2023. However, the vessel is yet to be towed away.

##### MT Sounion

The MT Sounion was initially attacked on the 21st of August, 2024, by the Houthis, who proceeded to attack it again. The vessel was carrying 922,000 barrels of oil. The vessel posed an imminent risk of causing an oil spill in the sea. However, the vessel was towed, whilst still on fire, to a secure location where the danger could be minimised.The fires were not put out until the 6th of October, 2024, after it had been towed away.

#### The potential effects of oil spills

There are many causes of oil spills, and the Red Sea Crisis increases the risk due to attacks. An oil spill would immediately affect ecosystems and communities in the area that rely on being able to fish in the waters. Estimates show that it could end 200,000 livelihoods and expose the communities to toxins through the water and the air. This would be critical because 28 million people in the region rely on the coral reefs for food.
When oil is spilt into the ocean, it undergoes a series of chemical changes known as weathering; this includes emulsification, evaporation and sedimentation. The currents, weather and waves spread the oil. The oil that stays on the surface of water poses a threat to animals that either come up to or land on the surface. If the animals touch the oil, it can ultimately cause hypothermia and drowning. Ingesting oil or inhaling the fumes can cause damage to their organs. In all cases, many animals die after an oil spill. As the oil is weathered, it sinks further down and harms plants and other animals.
The effects of an oil spill in the Red Sea are not entirely clear, as there is a lack of research into this topic, but the effects would depend on the season and weather, such as wind and waves.

#### Projections of the consequences that the FSO Safer oil spill could have caused

Modelling what an unmitigated FSO Safer oil spill would have looked like, shows that the oil would reach the coastline of Yemen within 10 days. Within two weeks, the oil spill would affect the two major ports in Yemen, Al Hudaydah and Saleef. After three weeks, the oil spill could have moved to the opening of the Red Sea, the port of Aden, and other countries, affecting Eritrea and Saudi Arabia and their ports and desalination plants.
The closures of Al Hudaydah and Saleef would cause immediate food shortages and a lack of humanitarian aid and fuel. Through these ports, Yemen receives 68% of its humanitarian aid, which half its population depend on. This would need to be redirected and would be delayed, and would cause an increase in food prices.
The contamination of desalination plants would be detrimental, as the region relies heavily on these plants, and there would only be enough drinking water for a few days. In Yemen, it was projected that the oil would likely contaminate 8,523 water well points.
Historically, the fishing industry has been vital to Yemen's economy, being its second-largest export before the civil war broke out. And Yemen and the region's food security rely on the ability to fish. Lessons from the Exxon-Valdez oil spill have shown that such spills heavily impact the fishing industry, as the area was closed for commercial fishing for years after the spill. The oil spill from FSO Safer could have been more significant than Exxon-Valdez's. Some estimates show that the fish stocks in the area of the Red Sea would have taken 25 years to recover from such a major oil spill. The overall costs of the oil spill to the fishing industry were projected to be 30 million USD every year for 25 years. This impact would be significant on the fishing communities, as 21% are considered poor, and 71% are very poor.

## Other chemicals
#### MV Rubymar

The British-owned, Belize-flagged bulk carrier, MV Rubymar, was attacked by an anti-ballistic missile fired by the Houthis on the 18th of February 2024. Before the crew was evacuated, they put down the anchor, but this did not stop the ship from drifting for over a week, and the ship ultimately left a 29 km long oil slick and has been suspected of severing three underwater cables while drifting. The bulk carrier ultimately sank on the 2nd of March.
The bulk carrier was carrying 21,000 tonnes of ammonium phosphate sulphate fertiliser when it sank, as well as 200 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and 80 tonnes of marine diesel. The bulk carrier can cause environmental damage through an oil spill and possible pollution if the fertiliser was to be released.

#### Effects of the release of fertiliser

The release of fertiliser could be especially damaging in the area where MV Rubymar sank, as the waters are somewhat shallow about 100 meters, meaning the concentration of fertiliser would be much higher than if the ship had sunk in deeper waters where it could be diluted quicker.
The release of the fertiliser could cause a nutrient over-enrichment, also known as eutrophication, where algae and other plant matter suddenly grow more due to excess nutrients, and then die and increase the amount of carbon in the water. This can create algal blooms, which are highly toxic to fish and can kill them if the concentration is high enough. It is one of the primary causes of hypoxic areas, also known as dead zones, where the oxygen concentration is below 2 mg/L. Such an oxygen depletion of the water would cause mobile organisms such as fish to flee the area. Whereas other organisms will die. This ultimately has a big impact on both biodiversity and ecosystems in the affected area. It also impacts food security in the region, as coastal communities rely on being able to fish to survive. In this way, releasing fertiliser in relatively shallow water could have significant consequences for ecosystems and fisheries in the area, as the concentration of fertiliser would be quite high, causing fish to flee or die.

## Clean-up measures

Clean-up measures after a vessel sinks or spills toxic substances in the Red Sea are complicated by the geopolitical area in which it is located.
As per Article 194 in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), states must take actions, either alone or in cooperation with other states, "to prevent, reduce and control pollution in the marine environment" to the best of their ability. From the three highlighted cases of attacks on this page, it has been necessary for international cooperation to do this, as there is a lack of capacity in the region to do this effectively on their own.
In the case of FSO Safer, the clean-up measures were facilitated by collective action, in which the UN played a significant role in negotiating with the Houthis to make the oil offloading possible. The operation relied heavily on crowdfunding, other states, and private actors, and permission was required from the Houthis and the Yemeni government to access the area and the vessel. It has been highlighted by legal scholars that under UNCLOS, Yemen had the primary responsibility for the prevention, reduction and control of pollution, as they were both the vessel's flag state and the coastal state. However, Yemen's capacity is limited due to its armed conflict with the Houthis and lack of resources, and therefore, the responsibility falls on the international community of states, who are all stakeholders in the matters of the sea. And this is what happened.
With MV Sounion, the mission was conducted by a Greek company called Megatugs Salvage & Towing using the vessel AHTS Aigaion Pelagos under the protection of the European Union Naval Force OPERATION ASPIDES. The rescue mission was put into action after negotiations with the Houthis.
With MV Rubymar, there have been calls for international cooperation, with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) asking for help to clean up and avoid an environmental disaster, and included pleas for private actors and states to donate of equipment needed for the clean up.
With the increasing risk of ships being attacked in the Red Sea and the consequences of oil spills, shipping companies might need to play a bigger role in facilitating clean-up capabilities, contributing to regional strategies, or using cleaner fuels. Or perhaps there should be a bigger focus on regional information sharing and cooperation to prevent, reduce and control marine pollution.