Transfer of oil from decaying Yemen tanker to be completed on Friday: Foreign minister

By Mahmoud Barakat

ANKARA (AA) – The transfer of oil from a decaying tanker in war-torn Yemen will be completed on Friday, according to a Yemeni government minister.

On July 25, the UN announced the start of a ship-to-ship transfer of approximately 1.1 million barrels of crude oil from the floating tanker vessel to prevent a significant oil leak.

"Today, the emptying out of the (FSO) Safer oil tank will be completed following a major UN and international operation," Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Bin Mubarak wrote on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

He stressed that the government "handled this matter with great responsibility, and its primary objective was to ensure the success of the operation to safeguard the waters, coasts, and beaches of Yemen and neighboring countries from an impending environmental disaster."

He also accused Houthi rebels of having obstructed efforts to empty out the tanker for eight years.

The FSO Safer oil tanker, a floating storage and offloading unit, is located 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of the port of Hudaydah. It has been used for storing and exporting oil from oilfields in the oil-rich central province of Marib.

The tanker, which is controlled by Houthi rebels, has lacked maintenance since 2015, and over 1 million barrels of crude oil have remained within the decaying vessel in the Red Sea.