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Houthis Want to Seize Oil on Safer Tanker in Exchange for Repairing it

This image taken in 2019, shows the corrosion on the control piping system inside the FSO Safer tanker, moored off Ras Issa port, Yemen. (AP)
This image taken in 2019, shows the corrosion on the control piping system inside the FSO Safer tanker, moored off Ras Issa port, Yemen. (AP)
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Houthis Want to Seize Oil on Safer Tanker in Exchange for Repairing it

This image taken in 2019, shows the corrosion on the control piping system inside the FSO Safer tanker, moored off Ras Issa port, Yemen. (AP)
This image taken in 2019, shows the corrosion on the control piping system inside the FSO Safer tanker, moored off Ras Issa port, Yemen. (AP)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen required from UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths that they keep the oil stored on board the Safer oil tanker in exchange for allowing a team of experts to perform maintenance work on the derelict vessel, well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Regional and international concerns have been expressed over the erosion of the tanker and the ensuing environmental disaster that could take place if left neglected off the coast of Ras Issa.

Sources, speaking under the conditions of anonymity, said that Houthis informed Griffiths that they might allow a team of UN experts to visit the FSO Safer in case the UN approves to keep the oil on board the vessel.

According to sources, the Houthis are looking to use the vessel as a pressure card and ticking time bomb to extort the international community in the future.

The decaying tanker has been abandoned off the coast with 1.2 million barrels of crude on board, which experts say could rupture at any time.

The 45-year-old FSO Safer is anchored off the port of Hodeidah under the control of Houthis, who have previously blocked efforts to send inspectors to assess its condition.

A UN plan aims to assess the tanker and carry out the necessary maintenance for it, and to empty it of oil immediately to avoid any leak that would lead to an environmental and economic disaster.

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Kremlin Says It Still Supports Syria’s Assad and Will See What Help Is Needed

This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian White Helmet civil defense worker running in a destroyed neighborhood after the Syrian government forces hit Idlib city, Syria, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian White Helmet civil defense worker running in a destroyed neighborhood after the Syrian government forces hit Idlib city, Syria, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
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Kremlin Says It Still Supports Syria’s Assad and Will See What Help Is Needed

This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian White Helmet civil defense worker running in a destroyed neighborhood after the Syrian government forces hit Idlib city, Syria, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian White Helmet civil defense worker running in a destroyed neighborhood after the Syrian government forces hit Idlib city, Syria, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia was continuing to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after his forces lost territory to opposition groups and would see what help was needed to stabilize the situation.

A statement from the Syrian Prime Minister's office on Monday said that Russian and Syrian aircraft were striking opposition-held positions in Aleppo's eastern countryside, killing and wounding dozens of fighters.

Russia, a staunch Assad ally, intervened militarily on his side against anti-government factions in 2015 in its biggest foray in the Middle East since the Soviet Union's collapse, and maintains an airbase and naval facility in Syria.

The Kremlin said on Friday it wanted the Syrian government to restore constitutional order as soon as possible and regarded the opposition attack as a violation of Syria's sovereignty.

Asked on Monday whether Russia planned to increase its support for Assad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:

"We continue to support Bashar Al-Assad. Contacts are continuing at the appropriate levels.

"We are analyzing the situation and a position will be formed on what is needed to stabilize the situation."

Russian military bloggers said on Sunday that Moscow has dismissed Sergei Kisel, the general in charge of its forces in Syria, and replaced him with Colonel General Alexander Chaiko.

There was no official confirmation from the Russian Defense Ministry of such a change.

Assad has vowed to crush the opposition fighters - a coalition of Türkiye-backed mainstream secular armed groups along with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

The opposition seized control of all of Idlib province in recent days, the boldest assault for years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.

They also swept into the city of Aleppo, east of Idlib, on Friday night, forcing the army to redeploy.