UN Ship Due to Prevent Oil Spill from Yemen’s Safer Departs for Red Sea

The FSO Safer. Asharq Al-Awsat
The FSO Safer. Asharq Al-Awsat
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UN Ship Due to Prevent Oil Spill from Yemen’s Safer Departs for Red Sea

The FSO Safer. Asharq Al-Awsat
The FSO Safer. Asharq Al-Awsat

A supertanker bought by the United Nations to remove oil from a ship abandoned off Yemen's coast departed China on Thursday, the UN announced, calling it a "significant" step in efforts to prevent a major spill.

The UN Development Program (UNDP) had in March purchased the crude carrier Nautica to remove more than a million barrels of oil from the beleaguered FSO Safer.

It was an unusual move for the agency, and was hailed as a breakthrough in efforts to avert a potentially catastrophic oil spill, AFP reported.

The 47-year-old FSO Safer has not been serviced since Yemen's devastating war broke out in 2015 and was left abandoned off the Houthi-held port of Hodeidah, a critical gateway for shipments into the country heavily dependent on emergency foreign aid.

After undergoing routine maintenance in drydock in Zhoushan, China, the Nautica left port on Wednesday, a UNDP statement said.

The ship, which was purchased from major tanker company Euronav, is expected to reach its destination in early May and will make a stop en route for further technical modifications, a UN spokesman said.

"The departure of the Nautica, and its onward journey to the Red Sea, is a significant next step in the complex operation to take on the oil from the Safer," said UNDP chief Achim Steiner, according to the statement.

He called for urgent contributions to fund the operation, the $129 million budget for which still has a gap of $34 million as of April 4. The UN has even launched a crowdfunding page, aiming to raise $500,000.

"We are in a race against time and I urge leaders in government, CEOs of corporations and any individual in a position to contribute to step forward and support us in keeping this operation, that is fast reaching a critical stage, on track," Steiner said.

The statement cited "spiraling costs" for VLCCs -- very large crude carriers, like the Nautica -- in a market impacted by the war in Ukraine.

"We have the best available technical expertise and political support from all sides," said David Gressly, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen.

"We just need the final piece of funding this month to ensure success" and prevent "a catastrophe," he added.

The Safer's 1.1 million barrels of oil is four times as much as that spilled in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, one of the world's worst ecological catastrophes, according to the UN.

An ecological disaster could also clog the Bab al-Mandab strait between Africa and the Arabian peninsula, taking a major toll on the global economy by holding up the Suez Canal.



Hamas Says it's Open to Gaza Truce but Stops Short of Accepting a Trump-backed Proposal

A Palestinian girl stands atop the rubble of the Al-Aimawi family’s home that was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Al-Zawaideh, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A Palestinian girl stands atop the rubble of the Al-Aimawi family’s home that was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Al-Zawaideh, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Hamas Says it's Open to Gaza Truce but Stops Short of Accepting a Trump-backed Proposal

A Palestinian girl stands atop the rubble of the Al-Aimawi family’s home that was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Al-Zawaideh, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A Palestinian girl stands atop the rubble of the Al-Aimawi family’s home that was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Al-Zawaideh, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Hamas suggested Wednesday that it was open to a ceasefire agreement with Israel, but stopped short of accepting a US-backed proposal announced by President Donald Trump hours earlier, insisting on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end to the war in Gaza.

Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. The US leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire, and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war.

Trump said the 60-day period would be used to work toward ending the war — something Israel says it won't accept until Hamas is defeated. He said that a deal might come together as soon as next week.

But Hamas' response, which emphasized its demand that the war end, raised questions about whether the latest offer could materialize into an actual pause in fighting, according to The AP news.

Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said that the militant group was “ready and serious regarding reaching an agreement.”

He said Hamas was “ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war.”

A Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the proposal, according to an Egyptian official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, because he wasn't authorized to discuss the talks with the media.

Disagreement on how the war should end Throughout the nearly 21-month-long war, ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over whether the war should end as part of any deal.

Hamas said in a brief statement Wednesday that it had received a proposal from the mediators and is holding talks with them to “bridge gaps” to return to the negotiating table to try to reach a ceasefire agreement.

Hamas has said that it's willing to free the remaining 50 hostages, less than half of whom are said to be alive, in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.

Israel says it will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and exiles itself, something the group refuses to do.

An Israeli official said that the latest proposal calls for a 60-day deal that would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a surge in humanitarian aid to the territory. The mediators and the US would provide assurances about talks to end the war, but Israel isn't committing to that as part of the latest proposal, the official said.

The official wasn't authorized to discuss the details of the proposed deal with the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It wasn't clear how many hostages would be freed as part of the agreement, but previous proposals have called for the release of about 10.

Israel has yet to publicly comment on Trump's announcement. On Monday, Trump is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, days after Ron Dermer, a senior Netanyahu adviser, held discussions with top US officials about Gaza, Iran and other matters.

Trump issues another warning On Tuesday, Trump wrote on social media that Israel had "agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War.”

“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he said.

Trump’s warning may find a skeptical audience with Hamas. Even before the expiration of the war’s longest ceasefire in March, Trump has repeatedly issued dramatic ultimatums to pressure Hamas to agree to longer pauses in the fighting that would see the release of more hostages and a return of more aid for Gaza’s civilians.

Still, Trump views the current moment as a potential turning point in the brutal conflict that has left more than 57,000 dead in the Palestinian territory.

Gaza's Health Ministry said the death toll passed the 57,000 mark Tuesday into Wednesday, after hospitals received 142 bodies overnight.