The United Nations (UN) has warned that an environmental disaster may occur as a result of oil leakage from the Safir oil tanker in the Red Sea.
In the post on the Twitter account of the UN Yemen Office, “The large oil spill by the Sapphire tanker will cause an environmental disaster in the Red Sea.” statements were included.
RED SEA WARNING FROM UN
In the statement, which stated that Yemen has been devastated by civil wars for more than 7 years, a report on the environmental disaster that may occur in the Red Sea was also shared.
In the report, it was stated that the Safir oil tanker was waiting 4.8 nautical miles offshore of Hudaydah province in western Yemen and carries the risk of an explosion or oil spill.
DANGER BELTS FOR 6 COUNTRIES
Emphasizing that an environmental disaster will have a serious negative impact on nature, tourism and fisheries in the event of a spill of oil in the tanker, the report noted that Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, as well as Egypt, could be affected by this situation.
In the report, it was also stated that 40 million dollars of aid has been collected so far for the UN-coordinated rescue plan and 104 million dollars are needed to implement the plan.
“LEAK” HAZARD IN SAFİR OIL TANKER
There is a risk of spilling 1.1 million barrels of oil from the Safir oil tanker off the coast of Hudayde, which has not been maintained since 2015, into the Red Sea.
The UN has long warned that the potential spill could be four times greater than the oil spilled into the sea in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster.
In the report published on the website of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) on April 25, it was stated that 144 million dollars were needed to resolve the crisis regarding the Safir oil tanker, which has been moored for years near the Ras Isa Port in the Red Sea, on the western coast of Yemen. (AA)