UN Begins Emergency Oil Transfer from Decaying Tanker off Yemen’s Coast

The United Nations has begun an emergency operation to transfer over one million barrels of crude oil from a decaying tanker, the FSO Safer, located off Yemen’s western coast. The two-week operation is crucial to prevent what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called a “ticking time bomb” and potentially “the worst oil spill of our era.” The aging tanker has deteriorated due to disrupted maintenance amid disputes over its ownership between the internationally recognized government of Yemen and the Houthi group. A spill could have a disastrous environmental impact and disrupt crucial supply ports in Yemen. The UN has raised about $118 million of an estimated $148 million budget for the rescue project.