Abandoned tanker off Yemen may explode “at any time”, says Greenpeace



A leak could affect riparian countries, including Djibouti, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia, as well as commercial maritime traffic in the Red Sea – AFP PHOTO / SATELLITE IMAGE Â © 2020 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES

Greenpeace was alarmed Thursday that an oil tanker abandoned for years off warring Yemen could explode “at any time”, urging the UN to act as quickly as possible to avoid a catastrophic oil spill. The warning comes shortly before a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday to discuss the issue.

The meeting was held as negotiations between the Houthi rebels, who control the port of Hodeidah off which the ship sits, and the UN, which wishes to inspect the ship, “are at an impasse,” according to the reports. insurgents. About 45 years old and containing 1.1 million barrels of crude, the FSO Safer has been anchored since 2015 in the Red Sea, some sixty kilometers from the first inhabited areas of Yemen, a country at war since 2014.

“Break or explode at any time”

“FSO Safer is rusting and could break or explode at any time,” Ahmed el-Droubi, a Greenpeace official for the Maghreb / ​​Middle East region, said in a statement. The inspection of the ship, whose condition is deteriorating, has dragged on for years between requests for access from the UN and refusal of the Houthis, who control the capital Sana’a and much of the north of the country.

“The UN must act now to avert what could be the biggest oil disaster in the region” in decades, said Jennifer Morgan, director of Greenpeace International. A leak could affect riparian countries, including Djibouti, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia, as well as commercial maritime traffic in the Red Sea.

The world’s worst humanitarian crisis

An oil spill could also destroy the ecosystems of this sea, shutting down the vital port of Hodeidah for six months and exposing more than 8.4 million people to high levels of pollutants, according to independent studies. The UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, has carried out diplomatic shuttles in the Gulf in recent weeks to restart talks for a ceasefire between the rebels, backed by Iran, and government forces, supported by a coalition led by Riyadh.

According to the United Nations, Yemen faces the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than four million displaced and two-thirds of the 30 million inhabitants dependent on aid.



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