UN hopes to proceed with inspection of oil tanker off Yemen

The UN said it was encouraged that a UN team may be able to visit an oil tanker loaded with 1.1 million barrels of crude oil that is moored off the coast of Yemen and posing a serious risk to Red Sea marine life, desalination plants and shipping.

Houthi rebels, who control the area where the ship is moored, denied UN inspectors access to the vessel. But UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday that “the local authorities recently signalled they would approve a UN mission to the site”.

“We are following up with them to confirm details,” he said.

“We hope arrangements will be quickly completed so work can begin.”

Documents obtained by reporters last month showed that seawater entered the engine compartment of the FSO Safer tanker, which has not been maintained for five years, causing damage to the pipelines and increasing its risk of sinking.

Rust has covered parts of the tanker and the inert gas that prevents the tanks from gathering inflammable gases has leaked.

Documents suggested the ‘FSO Safer’ tanker was in a poor condition that could threaten a marine accident

According to the report dated June 26, experts said maintenance was no longer possible because the damage to the ship was irreversible.

Mr Dujarric said the UN remained “extremely concerned” about the tanker.

He said water in the engine room “could have led to disaster” and “a temporary fix has been applied, but it is unclear how long this might last”.

He gave no further details. Mr Dujarric said the assessment mission would conduct feasible light repairs and would help to determine the appropriate next steps.

The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are in control of the western Red Sea ports, including Ras Issa, six kilometres from where the FSO Safer tanker has been moored since the 1980s.

They are at war with the internationally recognised government, which is backed by a Saudi-led Coalition.

The tanker is a Japanese-made vessel built in the 1970s and sold to the Yemeni government in 1980s to store up to three million barrels pumped from oil fields in Marib, a province in eastern Yemen, before it was exported.

The ship is 360 metres long with 34 storage tanks.