Alarm had earlier been voiced over the abandoned tanker, which has continued to erode, unattended, off the war-torn Yemeni coast of Al Hudaydah since 2015; it is believed to contain 1.14 million barrels of oil.
An eroding unattended oil tanker in the Red Sea near the Houthi-controlled coast of war-torn Yemen is believed to contain over 1 million barrels of crude and has the potential to create a major environmental and humanitarian disaster if it explodes or ruptures, Fox News reports.
The UN Security Council highlighted the risks posed by the FSO Safer tanker ahead of a meeting to discuss the issue, set for Wednesday.
The Japanese vessel, measuring 360 metres (1,181 feet) in length, was built in the 1970s and sold to the Yemeni government in the 1980s for the storage of up to 3 million barrels of crude from oil fields in Marib province.
While the Houthi rebels controlling the area in the vicinity of the decaying vessel have denied UN inspectors access to it, comments made by UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric cited by AP last week signalled a possible shift in their stance.
Amid rising concerns over the potential fallout from the abandoned floating oil terminal, the Security Council said in a statement released on 29 June:
The statement urged the need for the Houthis to speedily grant “unconditional access” for UN technical experts to assess the condition of the vessel and carry out possible urgent repairs.
Experts would also be…
