Regional leaders are starting to feel the pressure as stranded oil tanker in Yemen poses threat to the Red Sea

A stranded oil tanker off the coast of Yemen poses an existential threat to the Red Sea: An environmental catastrophe could be imminent if a stranded oil tanker off Yemen’s Red Sea coast remains neglected, the Council of Arab Ministers for Environmental Affairs warned in a meeting earlier this week, according to an Environment Ministry statement. The Red Sea’s marine ecosystems would be seriously affected if the Safer tanker were to leak its 1.1 mn tonnes of oil, said Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad. The minister has called on the UN and the International Maritime Organization to secure the inspection and maintenance of the decaying tanker, which has been cut off from regular maintenance work since 2015 due to Yemen’s civil war.