Extensive Environmental Pollution

After months of international efforts to avert an imminent environmental disaster caused by the FSO Safer tanker—which had been stranded for ten years of war off the coast of Yemen’s western city of Hodeidah—Israeli aircraft launched six double attacks on the Hodeidah port at 5:50 PM on Saturday, July 20, 2024. The attacks resulted in widespread environmental pollution, destroying approximately 43 oil tanks and storage containers holding 40,000 tons of petrol, 40,000 tons of diesel, and 10,000 tons of mazut. Large quantities of these substances, along with other chemicals, leaked into the Red Sea. The attacks also targeted the central electricity station in Al-Khoub area of Al-Salif district, destroying three of its fuel tanks, causing a complete power outage in Hodeidah, northwest Yemen. This led to massive fires and extensive environmental damage due to the thick smoke from the huge fires that burned for four days, among other hazardous and harmful emissions.

According to a statement for Mwatana for Human Rights organization, the Israeli attacks targeted civilian infrastructure facilities that were rebuilt and enhanced by UN agencies, international institutions, and donor countries, representing a lifeline for millions of people. Yemen receives more than 80% of its humanitarian aid, essential goods, and fuel through the Hodeidah port, which over 28 million Yemenis rely on for survival. These supplies had been reaching Hodeidah port after undergoing rigorous UN inspection and monitoring processes for nearly ten years of conflict.

Mwatana confirmed that its team verified, through visits to hospitals and medical facilities, the deaths of nine port workers and injuries to more than eighty people due to the six double aerial attacks by Israeli warplanes on the oil facilities and fuel tanks at Hodeidah port. Field teams in Hodeidah found remnants of American weapons used in the Israeli attacks on Hodeidah port, similar to those found in previous illegal attacks in Yemen.

The Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS), a British charity monitoring the environmental impact of conflict, stated that the fire and associated spills would generate hazardous emissions into the air and significant land pollution, with potential marine environmental contamination.

Wim Zwijnenburg of the Dutch peacebuilding organization "Pax" told AFP that “tens of thousands of liters of oil at least were burned following the attack,” warning that “toxic fumes” pose serious health risks. Zwijnenburg added, "In the face of conflict impacts and climate crisis, civilians and the environment in Yemen bear the brunt of ongoing hostilities."

Recent satellite imagery from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite indicated that the Israeli strikes caused "local spills in the marine environment of the port and the building," destroying most of the port’s oil storage capacity.

Farah Al-Khattab from Greenpeace Middle East said that coastal pollution from the attacks on Hodeidah port "potentially affects millions of people who depend on fishing for their livelihoods," adding to AFP that "fishing was Yemen's second-largest export and continues to provide a source of income and food security."

The Israeli attacks on the fuel tanks at Hodeidah port exacerbated environmental pollution caused by a series of drone and missile attacks by the Houthis on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, linked to the Gaza war, turning Yemeni waters into a hotspot of pollution.

Last week, a Liberian-flagged oil tanker was reported to be leaking fuel into the Red Sea after being hit by a Houthi raid 97 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah, according to NGOs and maritime security agencies.

A large oil slick initially measured at 220 kilometers (135 miles) in length was observed near the strike site, threatening the Farasan Banks Marine Sanctuary off the coasts of Yemen and Saudi Arabia, according to CEOBS. The charity estimated the spill at no less than 500 barrels (79,000 liters), noting that the slick remained visible six days after the attack, indicating "ongoing environmental risks to coral reefs and marine ecosystems."

The ship strike followed months after another vessel, attacked by the Houthis and carrying 21,000 tons of ammonium phosphate fertilizer, sank after leaving a fuel spill while still afloat.

The March sinking of the Belize-flagged cargo ship "Ruby Mar," operated by Lebanon, raised concerns about fuel and chemical contaminants leaking into the Red Sea and damaging coral reefs and marine life.

In March, a report by the UN Migration Office warned that Yemen was already suffering from severe air and water pollution after nearly a decade of war between Iranian-backed Houthis and the internationally recognized government supported by Saudi Arabia.

Yemeni marine waters are home to a rich marine ecosystem, including coral reefs, while many coastal communities in the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula rely on fishing.

Last year, the UN successfully completed the transfer of oil from the FSO Safer tanker off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, preventing an immediate threat of a massive spill.

The Safer ship, which was 48 years old and corroded, had been described for years as a "ticking time bomb." The ship, used for storing and exporting oil, had ceased operations due to the war in Yemen, and there were concerns that a leak or explosion could release its cargo of over one million barrels of crude oil into the Red Sea.