UK Minister for the Middle East James Cleverly criticized the Houthi militias for taking the Safer oil tanker as hostage and said that it was unacceptable for the Iran-backed group to have its grip on the livelihood of Yemenis and the environment.
Cleverley’s remarks were made in response to a question posed by the Friends of Yemen Group at the UK’s Labour Party.
He also urged handling the derelict tanker without any delay.
The Safer oil tanker has been docked 60 km north of Yemen's port city of Hodeidah since the late 1980s. It suffers from poor maintenance since the war broke out in Yemen some five years ago.
The UK also blasted the Houthis’ decision to close the Sanaa International Airport to all United Nations and humanitarian flights saying that such a step aims to pressure the UN, Arab Coalition, and the international community.
Michael Aron, the UK ambassador to Yemen, spoke about substantial progress on the Safer oil tanker issue.
In exclusive statements to Asharq Al-Awsat, Aron said that there is a semi-complete agreement between the UN and Houthis about granting access to UN experts on board Safer.
The UN had confirmed that any oil spill at Safer may destroy 500 square kilometers of agricultural land used by about 3 million Yemeni farmers. Apart from also potentially destroying 8,000 water wells, the spill may cause a spike in air pollutants that affect more than 8 million people.
Although Aron confirmed progress being made, he mentioned that the effort is facing financing challenge.
“We need between three and four million dollars, and we are currently talking with some donors, especially Germany,” he said, adding that the UK had already provided three million dollars.
“If we get the funds before the end of the month, the team could be in Djibouti,” Aron said.
