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The United Nations (UN) was urged to act immediately to prevent a massive oil spill in the Red Sea due to the ship.
The 45-year-old FSO Safer fuel vessel is loaded with 1.1 million barrels of crude oil and has been abandoned near Yemen’s western port of Hodeida since 2015.
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“The FSO Safer is rusty at anchor and could break or explode at any time,” said Greenpeace spokesman Ahmed El Droubi.
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“It’s not if, but when,” said Droubi.
The UN Security Council met late Thursday after the Houthi militia, who control large parts of northern Yemen, declared an agreement to allow a UN mission to inspect the tanker “reached a dead end.”
Effectively a floating storage area, the ship has been under maintenance for almost six years, and now environmentalists warn that the ship could break apart at any moment.
Greenpeace says apart from corrosion on rusty ships, the important work of managing the explosive gases in its storage tanks has been neglected.
Jennifer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace International, said, “The United Nations must act now to avoid what could be the region’s biggest oil disaster for decades.”
“The solution is available, the expertise and technology to help is known,” Morgan said.
The United Nations says the oil spill will destroy the Red Sea ecosystem, kill the fishing industry and close the Hodeida port for six months.
The Houthis have called for an immediate inspection and maintenance of the tanker, but the United Nations says there must be an impartial assessment before maintenance work can begin safely.
(sya)
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