New York (Debriefer) - The UN Security Council on Wednesday is holding a special session to spare the Red Sea a looming environmental risk posed by the Yemeni floating storage and offloading (FSO) facility Safer off the seaport of Ras Isa.
The UN Environment Programme Executive Director, Inger Andersen is expected to brief the UNSC on the dangerous condition of Safer, and to highlight need for urgent solution to the issue.
The Yemeni State-owned tanker of Safer has not been repaired since 2014, with corrosion making the FSO and 140,000 barrels of crude inside at risk of looming explosion.
Before the Hodeida military operation, the Houthis saw the tanker as deterrent means, a UN informed source told NewsYemen. Recently, they seem to have used the FSO facility as a pressure card in connection with talks on Hodeida deal.
Late on Tuesday, the Yemeni UN-recognized government called on the UNSC to take strict decisions against the "Houthi dodges with no tangible solutions to end the risks posed by a leak, sinking or explosion of Safer to Yemen and the Red Sea region."
The Houthi consent for a UN team to assess the tanker is a new political maneuver prior to the UNSC's session, the Riyadh-based Saba quoted the Yemeni information minister as saying.
The "approval is limited to checking and assessing, but not towing or discharging the crude out of the tanker," Moammar al-Eryani added.
The international community's credibility regarding the Houthi dodges will be at a real trial at the UNSC's session, he said.
Hadi minister accused the Houthis of using Safer to blackmail and bargain, without caring for its disastrous impacts on Yemen and the region.
At Tuesday meeting, the Yemeni government said priority should be given to discharging the tanker to avoid the catastrophe, and it would not enter in any talks before this demand is met.
