UN to Transfer 1 Million Barrels of Oil from Decaying Yemeni Tanker in Red Sea

The UN-led operation to prevent a catastrophic oil spill off Yemen's Red Sea coast has made progress as a replacement vessel, Nautica, arrived at Yemen's Hodeidah port to transfer over 1.1 million barrels of oil from the decaying FSO Safer supertanker. The FSO Safer, abandoned for eight years, poses a significant risk of cracking or exploding, potentially causing one of the worst oil spills in history. The operation aims to prevent the destruction of marine ecosystems, fishing communities, and disruption of shipping through the Suez Canal. The oil transfer will take two weeks, followed by the installation of a mooring buoy to secure the replacement vessel. The ownership dispute over the oil complicates the funding of the salvage operation, which has an estimated budget of $148 million.