Yemeni Government Calls on Immediate UN Intervention for Derelict Oil Tanker

Safer oil tanker, Getty Images
Safer oil tanker, Getty Images
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Yemeni Government Calls on Immediate UN Intervention for Derelict Oil Tanker

Safer oil tanker, Getty Images
Safer oil tanker, Getty Images

Yemen’s government has urged the UN Security Council to intervene to prevent a rundown oil tanker, Safer, from leaking more than a million barrels of oil into the Red Sea.

Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hadhrami called on the UNSC to hold a special session following the Iran-backed Houthi militia’s refusal to allow UN experts to conduct their five-year maintenance on the ship.

Al-Hadhrami, in a letter, urged the Council to undertake its responsibilities to avoid an environmental catastrophe.

An oil leak from the Safer’s tanks would be “one of the biggest environmental disasters in the region and the world,” he told Christoph Heusgen, Germany’s Permanent Representative to the UN and President of UNSC.

The Houthis have rejected all independent international requests to board the vessel, including the latest one from UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths, who demanded access for an international technical team.

Al-Hadhrami, in his letter, briefed the UNSC about all government and international efforts, including the government approving a separate proposal to resolve the Safer oil tanker crisis presented recently by Griffiths.

Houthis have rejected the proposal.

Al-Hadhrami quoted previous government letters and statements to the UN which showcase the oil tanker’s deteriorating situation.

The tanker, which has been floating near the port city of Hodeidah since 1989 following an oil spill, is at risk of exploding and causing a massive environmental disaster.

Safer – often described by officials as a ticking time bomb – has not docked since 2014 and is currently in waters controlled by the Houthis.

The minister called on the Council to address the situation immediately and separate the issue from Yemen’s ongoing crisis.

An environmental catastrophe would pose a more immediate threat to Yemen and the region, he added.



Israel Strikes Beirut's Southern Suburbs once Again

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
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Israel Strikes Beirut's Southern Suburbs once Again

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut’s Haret Hreik area in the southern suburbs again on Friday after evacuation warnings were issued to residents prior to the attacks by an Israeli spokesman.
The Israeli army issued evacuation orders to residents in the areas of al-Hadath and Haret Hreik, as well as several villages in Lebanon’s south requesting they move to north of Awwali River.
When it issues such a warning, Israel cites alleged presence of Hezbollah fighters or infrastructure in civilian areas as a justification for its airstrikes.
Avichay Adraee, spokesperson for the Israeli army, issued an evacuation warning to the residents of the towns of Tayba, Aadchit, Qusayr, and Deir Seryan, as well as to the residents of the towns of Burj al-Shamali and Maashuq in southern Lebanon.
He also requested the evacuation of residents from specific buildings in Hadath and Haret Hreik in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Later during the day, Lebanon’s health ministry said two medics were killed in the Israeli strikes on a southern Lebanon town.

Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,583 people and wounded 15,244 in Lebanon since October 2023, with 25 fatalities reported on Wednesday, the Lebanese health ministry said on Thursday.