Yemen, US Develop Plans to Deal with Possible Safer Leak

Yemen, US Develop Plans to Deal with Possible Safer Leak

Yemen and the United States have developed plans and precautionary measures to deal with the risks of any leakage, sinking, or explosion of the Safer oil tanker.

Safer holds around 1.1 million oil barrels on board and is anchored off the coast of Hodeidah.

The Iranian-backed Houthi militias, which control the tanker's anchorage area, have for years refused to carry out any maintenance work.

They prevented UN experts from boarding the tanker and assessing it to take the necessary measures and avoid a major environmental disaster.

Minister of Water and Environment Tawfik al-Sharjabi announced that the Yemeni government considers the tanker a grave threat, indicating that it is working with all partners in the international community to address the dangerous environmental issue.

Sharjabi warned that the risks increase in light of the tanker's highly complex climatic, environmental, and technical conditions.

He said that Houthis refuse to respond to international warnings and Security Council resolutions requiring a team of experts to inspect the tanker for evaluation, according to Saba news agency.

The Yemeni minister discussed with US Chargé d'Affaires Cathy Westley the tanker's alarming conditions.

The meeting touched on international efforts aiming to handle the decaying tanker problem and national, regional, and international measures to deal with risks in