After Beirut blast, experts urge action on region’s other ticking time bomb

More than 1.1 million barrels of oil aboard ‘FSO Safer’ off Yemeni coast at high risk of leaking or exploding

A photo provided by the maritime consultancy IR Consilium, taken in 2019, shows the external piping system and the hose failure that led to a spill from the FSO Safer oil tanker moored off Ras Issa port in Yemen. IR Consilium via AP

Photos of the FSO Safer taken in 2019 show the deterioration in the condition of the abandoned tanker, which has raised fears of an environmental disaster if it should explode or spill the more than one million barrels of oil on board. IR Consilium via AP

Internal decay inside the FSO Safer. Yemen's Houthi rebels have denied access to the tanker for inspection and maintenance. IR Consilium via AP

Corrosion in the boiler system of the FSO Safer. IR Consilium via AP

Oil leaks on the deck of the FSO tanker after a lack of basic maintenance for years. IR Consilium via AP

Corrosion on the control piping system inside the FSO Safer tanker. IR Consilium via AP

Corrosion in the internal piping system of the FSO Safer. IR Consilium via AP

Experts and analysts are calling for urgent action on the FSO Safer,  a rusting oil tanker off Yemen, fearing it could the Middle East's next ticking time bomb after the explosion in Beirut last week.

The tanker, neglected for five years as were the ammonium nitrate stores in a Beirut port warehouse, was once used as an offshore storage platform for Yemen's oil exports.

Experts are calling for urgent action to secure the ship, which was built in 1976, so that it does not explode or leak its cargo of 1.14 million barrels of oil.

Long past its useful life and neglected during five years of war, the ship already shows signs of its age.

Cracks have appeared in the vessel’s hull, allowing seawater to seep inside, the UN said in a report.

It plans to send a team of experts to carry out studies on the ship.

But work to make it safe or offload its cargo – valued at about $80 million (Dh293.8m) – has been delayed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control Hodeidah and access to the ship.

A Yemeni analyst, Ibrahim Jala, called last week for action on the Safer  after 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded at Beirut's port on Tuesday, having been stored there for six years.

Mr Jala, of the Middle East Institute, said 4,900 tonnes of the compound, nearly double the amount left in the Lebanese warehouse, is being stored at the port in Aden.

He described this and the Safer  as nightmare situations.

If the oil aboard the ship leaks, analysts predict, it could cause a catastrophe that would outstrip some of the world’s worst oilspills and cause irreparable damage to much of the Red Sea’s wildlife and coast.