Yemen rebels claim UN deal on decaying oil tanker

SANAA, Yemen (AA) - Houthi rebels said Sunday an understanding has been reached with the United Nations over a deteriorating oil tanker stranded off Yemen’s coast since 2015.

“A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed with the UN on the Safer tanker,” Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the group’s Supreme Political Council, tweeted.

He, however, did not provide any details about the MoU.

There was no comment yet from the UN on the Houthi claim.

Safer is a rusting tanker with a capacity of over 1.1 million barrels (over 140,000 tonnes) anchored in the Red Sea, 60 kilometers from al-Hudaydah port and is used for storage purposes of the oil coming from Marib province in central Yemen.

According to the UN, the vessel needs urgent maintenance and is at risk of exploding or spilling its oil cargo.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The eight-year conflict has caused one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises, with nearly 80% of Yemenis, or about 30 million people, needing humanitarian assistance and protection, in addition to more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara