Albania hosts MWL chief for Eid sermon at largest mosque in the Balkans    Saudi Arabia launches pavilion at Bologna International Book Fair 2025    Rare Kaaba interior coverings showcased at Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah    Haramain High-Speed Railway transports over 1.2 million passengers during Ramadan    Marine Le Pen sentenced to prison, barred from office over EU funds embezzlement    UK returns over 24,000 migrants as Starmer scraps Rwanda deportation plan    Missing US soldiers' armored vehicle recovered from Lithuanian swamp    Myanmar declares seven days of national mourning after devastating earthquake    Saudi Transport Authority says passengers can ride for free if taxi meters are off    Ministry of Education forms 425 community partnerships with SR653 million impact    Defense, interior, and national guard ministers extend Eid greetings, praise efforts of military and security personnel    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Elon Musk's xAI acquires X in all-stock deal    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    100 Thieves claim Marvel Rivals Invitational NA crown as 2025 scene heats up    T1 CEO confirms Gumayusi's return for LCK Spring after lineup shakeup    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Saudi Arabia hold Japan to goalless draw in Saitama to stay in World Cup hunt    NewJeans announces hiatus after setback in court battle    George Foreman, heavyweight champion and cultural icon, dies at 76    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



UN expert: Stricken oil tanker off Yemen must be inspected to avoid catastrophe
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 13 - 11 - 2020

It is "vital" that technical experts be granted immediate access to a rusting oil tanker threatening an environmental calamity in the Red Sea, an independent UN expert said on Thursday.
Having been abandoned five years ago when its engine room flooded with seawater, the 44-year-old Safer super tanker currently holds some 1.1 million barrels of oil.
The vessel was abandoned off the coast of Yemen's key port of Hodeidah, which has been under the control of Houthi militants. The rapidly decaying vessel sprang a leak in late May.
Official approval has still not been granted by Houthi authorities, although they have expressed their intent to allow a UN team on board in principle.
"A UN technical team should be given all necessary means to assess the dilapidated tanker and conclusively avert the threat of a spill from the dilapidated tanker", said Marcos Orellana, UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights.
Since the late 1980s, the Safer had been used as a storage vessel for oil and now threatens Yemen and the Red Sea with ecological catastrophe, according to the UN rights expert.
"If this ship were to break up, a spill could decimate livelihoods of local coastal communities, biodiversity in the region, and heavily impact shipping routes in the Red Sea", stressed Orellana.
"It is vital that a UN technical team be permitted to board the FSO Safer if we are to have any hope of preventing the threat of a spill that could be four times worse than the historic Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, in 1989".
Citing the devastating explosion at the port of Beirut in Lebanon last August, the UN expert asked: "Has the world learned nothing?"
"Surely the dangers of mishandling hazardous substances are now evident", he flagged.
Although the Government of Yemen and Houthi authorities formally requested UN assistance with the Safer tanker in March of 2018, more than two years on, the team has not been deployed because the necessary approvals have not yet been granted.
"This is a tragedy in the making and it must be prevented at all costs from hitting the people of Yemen", the expert said. "They have suffered enough".
Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary, and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work. — UN news


Clic here to read the story from its source.