RIYADH (Debriefer)--The Arab League is set to hold an extraordinary meeting on Monday to discuss the issue of the FSO Safer oil tanker decaying off Yemen's western coast and threatening an environmental crisis which would affect a number of Arab and African countries.
Saudi Arabia has called for the meeting amid growing concerns over the condition of the tanker which has been left unmaintained for five years. The tanker is carrying more than 1.1 million barrels of crude. Warnings are growing it could explode or sink at any moment because its equipment and systems have largely deteriorated.
Assistant secretary general of the League for economic affairs, Kamal Ali Hassan, said in a statement on Sunday the extraordinary meeting aims to find ways to activate the resolution 582 which was issued by the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment at their 31st ordinary session.
The internationally recognized government of Yemen is accusing the Houthi group of preventing international experts from accessing and inspecting the tanker. The Houthis are using the tanker as a leverage in the political process, it says.
