Yemen's Safer oil tanker towed to safer location

Tanker was left abandoned for years off the coast of Yemen

A burning oil tanker that has been abandoned off the coast of Yemen for years has finally been towed to a safer location. The Safer, a 40-year-old single-hull tanker, has been filled with about 1.1 million barrels of crude oil and has been left to deteriorate since 2015, when the Yemeni civil war broke out.

The Safer has been a major environmental hazard, with experts warning that an oil spill could devastate the Red Sea ecosystem. The tanker has also been a security risk, with the Houthis, the rebel group that controls much of Yemen, threatening to attack the vessel. The Houthis had initially refused to allow the UN to inspect the tanker, but they eventually agreed to a deal that would allow the UN to tow the Safer to a safer location.

The Safer was towed to a location about 70 miles off the coast of Yemen

The UN has been working to remove the oil from the Safer since 2018, but the operation has been delayed by the war. The UN finally reached an agreement with the Houthis in 2022, and the Safer was towed to a location about 70 miles off the coast of Yemen. The UN is now working to transfer the oil from the Safer to another tanker.

The towing of the Safer is a major step forward in the effort to prevent an oil spill in the Red Sea. However, the operation is still ongoing, and there is still a risk of an oil spill. The UN is calling for international support to help complete the operation and to prevent an environmental disaster.