UN calls for donors to save sinking tanker

THE United Nations has bought an oil tanker to avert a Red Sea environmental catastrophe but has called on individual donors to contribute more money to a $129 million (£106 million) rescue plan.

The Yemeni supertanker the FSO Safer has been abandoned without maintenance since 2015 amid a civil war between Houthi rebels and the Saudibacked Yemeni government.

Experts warn the rusting vessel is at risk of spilling over one million barrels of crude oil into the Red Sea, which could be one of the worst environmental disasters in recent history.

“Whole communities would be exposed to life-threatening toxins,” according to the UN Development Programme. “Highly polluted air would affect millions,” it added.

The Houthis have demanded a replacement vessel in return for allowing the salvage of the tanker, which is moored near the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah.

The risk of catastrophe is so great that the UN agreed in 2021 to purchase an oil storage vessel but spiralling costs have delayed the salvage operations which are expected to start in May.

The UN is reactivating a rare public crowdfunding campaign launched in 2021 that saw thousands of individuals donate after states failed to contribute sufficient funds.

So far the UN has raised a total of $95 million, of which $75 million has been received.