Yemen, Britain Warn against 1 Mn Barrel Oil Leak in Red Sea from Safer Tanker

The Safer oil tanker off Yemen's Red Sea coast, pictured in March 2005. (Getty Images)
The Safer oil tanker off Yemen's Red Sea coast, pictured in March 2005. (Getty Images)
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Yemen, Britain Warn against 1 Mn Barrel Oil Leak in Red Sea from Safer Tanker

The Safer oil tanker off Yemen's Red Sea coast, pictured in March 2005. (Getty Images)
The Safer oil tanker off Yemen's Red Sea coast, pictured in March 2005. (Getty Images)

Yemen’s Minister of Fish Wealth Fahd Kafayen warned that a marine environment disaster was imminent in the Red Sea over the continued erosion of the Safer floating oil storage and offloading vessel that is moored north of Hodeidah city.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the disaster was looming after the corrosion of the floating tank, which holds nearly a million barrels of crude oil.

He said that leak would lead to a marine disaster that would stretch across vast areas of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and reach neighboring regions. It will lead to massive destruction in marine life and the spill would be difficult to contain.

Its impact will last for several years, he warned.

The Safer is laden with some 1.1 million barrels of crude oil and has been stranded with no maintenance since early 2015, soon after the Iran-backed Houthi militias staged their coup in Yemen, leaving it to deteriorate and potentially allowing explosive gases to build up.

Kafayen urged the international community to immediately intervene and force the Houthis to allow experts to urgently resolve the problem before it gets even worse.

British Ambassador to Yemen Michael Aron echoed the plea, urging the militants to allow United Nations experts to access the tanker and assess the situation.

The experts should be allowed to prepare a report on the best ways to handle the problem, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The United Nations has warned that if the Safer ruptures, it could block maritime trade through the Red Sea, which accounts for up to 10 percent of world trade.

It could also threaten the daily passage of some 5.5 million barrels of oil, contaminate drinking water and damage the marine environment across the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and parts of Gulf waters.

The tanker holds a capacity of 3.5 million barrels. The Safer company used to perform regular maintenance on the vessel until the Houthis seized control of Hodeidah and prevented them from accessing it.

Some 176 workers used to operate the floating platform, but now there are only four.

According to information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, Safer was listed put up for auction by Japan in 1986. It was considered the world’s second largest vessel as the time. The Hunt Oil Company purchased it and turned it into a floating platform near Ras Issa in Hodeidah.

Yemen’s Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani had previously cited technical reports that warned that a leak would spill 138 million liters of oil in the Red Sea, which would be four times worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaskan waters.



Hamas Fires Rockets at Israeli Cities, Israel Issues Evacuation Orders in Gaza 

Emergency personnel gather at an impact scene following a hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza strip towards Israel, in Ashkelon, Israel April 6, 2025. (Reuters)
Emergency personnel gather at an impact scene following a hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza strip towards Israel, in Ashkelon, Israel April 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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Hamas Fires Rockets at Israeli Cities, Israel Issues Evacuation Orders in Gaza 

Emergency personnel gather at an impact scene following a hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza strip towards Israel, in Ashkelon, Israel April 6, 2025. (Reuters)
Emergency personnel gather at an impact scene following a hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza strip towards Israel, in Ashkelon, Israel April 6, 2025. (Reuters)

Palestinian militant group Hamas said it fired a barrage of rockets at cities in Israel's south on Sunday in response to Israeli "massacres" of civilians in Gaza.

Israel's military said about 10 projectiles were fired, but most were successfully intercepted. Israel's Channel 12 reported a direct hit in the southern city of Ashkelon.

Israeli emergency services said they were treating one person for shrapnel injuries, and teams were en route to locations of fallen rockets. Smashed car windows and debris lay strewn on a city street, videos disseminated by Israeli emergency services showed.

Meanwhile, Gaza local health authorities said Israeli military strikes killed at least 39 people across the Gaza Strip on Sunday.

Shortly after the rocket firing, the Israeli military posted on X a new evacuation order, instructing residents of several districts in Deir Al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip to leave their areas, citing earlier rocket firing.

"This is a final warning before the attack," the military warning statement said.

Later, it said it struck the rocket launcher from which projectiles were launched earlier from the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a flight to Washington for a meeting with US President Donald Trump, was briefed on the rocket attack by his Defense Minister, Israel Katz.

A statement issued by his office said Netanyahu instructed that a "vigorous" response be carried out and approved the continuation of intensive activity by the Israeli military against Hamas.

Israel's Channel 12 television said at least 12 lightly injured people have been treated as a result of the rocket firing from Gaza, quoting officials at the Bazilai Hospital in Ashkelon.

The first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force on January 19 after 15 months of war and involved a halt to fighting, the release of some of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners.

However, Israel said on March 19 that its forces resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip. Both parties blamed one another for a stalemate in the ceasefire talks.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Palestinian officials say. Israel began its offensive after thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.