Joe Biden’s burning oil tanker in the Red Sea

As the ship Sounion drifts in the Red Sea after an attack by the Houthis, does Joe Biden or Kamala Harris have a plan to revive order in a global shipping lane now controlled by terrorists?

The Greek-owned oil tanker Sounion on fire in the Red Sea. Picture; AFP.

If ever an episode illustrated President Biden’s failures abroad, behold an abandoned ship aflame and possibly oozing oil in the Red Sea. Does Mr. Biden or either of the candidates running to replace him have a plan to revive order in a global shipping lane now controlled by Houthi terrorists?

Last week Iran’s proxies in Yemen attacked a Greek tanker heading from Iraq to Greece with more than 20 mariners aboard. The crew managed to evacuate, but the Pentagon said Tuesday the ship is now “immobilised in the Red Sea where it is currently on fire and appears to be leaking oil, presenting both a navigational hazard and a potential environmental catastrophe.”

The ship contains roughly a million barrels of crude, and the State Department has warned the mess could end with an oil spill four times the size of Exxon Valdez in 1989.

Image released by Yemen's Huthi Ansarullah Media Centre, shows the Greek-owned oil tanker Sounion alight. Picture: AFP.

The Houthis threatened to attack two tugs that tried to approach the ship to help with salvage, though Iran said Wednesday that the Houthis would spare the tugs and rescue ships. Nice of them.

And what’s the U.S. doing? The Pentagon dutifully denounced these “reckless acts of terrorism which continue to destabilise global and regional commerce, put the lives of innocent civilian mariners at risk, and imperil the vibrant maritime ecosystem in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Houthis’ own backyard.”

A terrorist organisation lobbing drones and missiles at mariners won’t be moved by lectures about harming local fish and wildlife.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards drive speedboats during a ceremony to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the downing of Iran Air flight 655 by the US navy: Iran supports the Houthis. Picture: AFP.

The Houthis continue to hold global shipping hostage because the U.S. is tolerating it, instead of obliterating the group’s radar and missile stores with military strikes. That is a choice. The American-led international coalition to escort vessels can now fairly be declared a failure.

These pages have warned that the consequences of failing to deter the Houthis will radiate to other parts of the region and the world. That bill could now include environmental degradation, and we await the progressive climate lobby’s outrage.

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Mr Biden is leaving crises in nearly every part of the world for his successor. Donald Trump at least understands that Iran is the conductor of the Houthi terrorist orchestra. Voters are left to guess what Kamala Harris would do differently from the current Commander in Chief. If Thursday’s interview with Ms. Harris and her running mate Tim Walz is more than a perfunctory exercise, CNN will ask how she plans to restore deterrence in the Red Sea.

The Wall St Journal