Yemen War: Tanker Could Explode Anytime, Spill Million Barrels Of Oil Into Red Sea

There is a ticking time bomb just off Yemen’s coast. It's a deserted oil tanker, the FSO Safer, which was abandoned in 2015 when the Houthi militants took over the region. Experts have sounded the alarm saying that the vessel, owned by the Yemen Oil and Gas Corporation, could “explode anytime” and the one million barrels of oil it holds can blacken the Red Sea.

Stranded just near the Yemeni port of Ras Isa, the oil tanker has been without maintenance for four years and its condition is deteriorating rapidly. Experts say the vessel is an “environmental and humanitarian catastrophe” waiting to happen. The United Nations Undersecretary General for Humanitaran Affairs, Mark Lowcock, told the UN Security Council that a spill from the tanker could quickly leach into the Suez Canal. Lowcock said it could spread as far as the Strait of Hormuz. “I leave it to you to imagine the effect of such a disaster on the environment, shipping lanes and the global economy,” he said.

The agency, Lowcock says, plans to make a risk assessment of the ship, but he said his team was rebuffed by local authorities. Lowcock said Houthi officials continue to delay any steps to address the problem. According to RT, the Houthi-led government had previously called for assurances that it will be allowed to extract the ship’s valuable, 1.14 million barrels of crude, cargo, which is about $60 million worth of petroleum, after the vessel is salvaged. The report said international sanctions on Yemen make this plan untenable, and hence the government’s reluctance to allow the salvage.

Conflict and Environment Observatory director Doug Weir told the Guardian that until a UN technical inspection takes place, it is difficult to determine the precise risk the vessel poses. Weir said its clear that there is a serious environmental emergency. “An explosion leading to a spill would have a severe effect on the Red Sea marine environment, and on both biodiversity and livelihoods, an emergency made worse because the ongoing conflict would hamper efforts to control and respond to the pollution it would cause,” he said.

The Yemen conflict has left a devastating imprint on the people as well as the infrastructure, economy and the environment. The country’s bloody civil war, a proxy war between the Iran-backed Houthis and a Saudi Arabia-led coalition, has cost thousands of lives.