An aging oil tanker moored off Yemen’s western coast has the United Nations and environmentalists warning that time is running out to prevent a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe in the Red Sea in what could be a parallel disaster to last week’s deadly explosion in Beirut.    

The FSO Safer, a dilapidated ship stranded about 37 miles north of Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, contains 1.14 million barrels of light crude oil and holds the potential to unleash four times as much oil into the sea than was spilled from the Exxon Valdez tanker in 1989, the United Nations says. An oil spill on that scale would cause lasting damage to both Yemen’s economy as well as what the UN calls one of “most important repositories of biodiversity on the planet.” 

The Houthis, a rebel group fighting the internationally recognized, US-backed government, seized the vessel from the government in 2015. No maintenance has been performed since, and despite repeated warnings of a looming disaster, the Iran-aligned rebels have obstructed attempts by the United Nations to send inspectors. 

“We are running out of time for the slow, deliberate, step-by-step approach the UN has repeatedly attempted,” said Ian Ralby, CEO of I.R. Consilium, a global consultancy on maritime and resource security.