Broken Pipe inside Safer Tanker off Yemen Brings it Closer to Disaster

This image provided by I.R. Consilium taken in 2019, shows the extent of the corrosion in the boiler system inside the FSO Safer tanker, moored off Ras Issa port, Yemen. (AP)
This image provided by I.R. Consilium taken in 2019, shows the extent of the corrosion in the boiler system inside the FSO Safer tanker, moored off Ras Issa port, Yemen. (AP)
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Broken Pipe inside Safer Tanker off Yemen Brings it Closer to Disaster

This image provided by I.R. Consilium taken in 2019, shows the extent of the corrosion in the boiler system inside the FSO Safer tanker, moored off Ras Issa port, Yemen. (AP)
This image provided by I.R. Consilium taken in 2019, shows the extent of the corrosion in the boiler system inside the FSO Safer tanker, moored off Ras Issa port, Yemen. (AP)

An official at the SAFER Exploration and Production Operations Company reiterated his call for the immediate unloading of the fuel cargo on board the eroding Safer oil tanker to avert a disaster off the Yemeni coast.

The official revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the main export pipe at the tanker has been broke due to strong winds and waves.

The pipe is now broken in half, he warned, saying disaster was imminent.

The Iran-backed Houthi militias have, under various excuses, been barring a United Nations team of experts from accessing the vessel to assess it and determine what repairs it needs.

The Houthis will refuse the unloading of the oil cargo should they grant the team access to the tanker, said the official. “This obstacle will have consequences.”

“We must focus on unloading the cargo, not just repairing the tanker. The team must be allowed to remove the oil immediately,” he urged.

The vessel, which is carrying a cargo of 1.1 million barrels of oil, has been moored off the coast of Ras Issa, in Hodeidah province, since 2015.

The eroding tanker is in desperate need of repair. Water has already started to leak into its engine room, prompting UN officials to warn of a major impending environmental disaster in the Red Sea, as well as the potential risk of a massive explosion caused by the buildup of gases in the storage tanks.

The Houthis that control Hodeidah have been obstructing UN efforts to send maintenance teams to the tanker, heedless of the crisis and looming danger.

Meanwhile, Arab Parliament Speaker Dr. Mishaal al-Salami pleaded on Friday with the international community to intervene to stop the impending disaster.

He held the Houthis completely responsible for preventing the UN team from carrying out the necessary repairs and maintenance operations on the vessel.

The international community must act “immediately and urgently to grant the team access in order to avert this major humanitarian disaster,” he demanded.



Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
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Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)

Hundreds of Tunisians staged two protest rallies on Wednesday against what they say is the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied and demanded the release of political prisoners, while six detained opposition figures held a hunger strike.

Saied seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary. The opposition described his move as a coup, Reuters reported.

Supporters of the opposition Free Constitutional Party gathered in the capital Tunis to demand the release of their detained leader Abir Moussi. They chanted slogans such as "Saied, dictator, your turn has come," and "Free Abir".

"What is happening is true tyranny, no freedom for the opposition, no freedom for the media. Any word can send you to prison," one protester, Hayat Ayari, told Reuters.

Hundreds of supporters of another opposition party, the Salvation Front, staged a separate rally, also in Tunis, to demand the release of detained politicians, activists and journalists.

Six prominent opposition figures detained on conspiracy charges have begun a hunger strike in prison to protest against their impending trial, their lawyers said on Wednesday.

Abdelhamid Jelassi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Khiyam Turki, Ridha Belhaj, Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi - all detained in 2023 during a crackdown on the opposition - have refused to participate in what they say is an "unfair trial".

Saied said in 2023 that the detainees were "traitors and terrorists" and that the judges who acquitted them were their accomplices.

The detainees have denied any wrongdoing and have said they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting Tunisia's fragmented opposition.

Most leaders of political parties are now in prison including two of Saied's most prominent opponents, Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the Ennahda party.

The government says there is democracy in Tunisia and Saied says he will not be a dictator, but that what he calls a corrupt elite must be held accountable.