• The decaying FSO Safer tanker has been under the control of the Iran backed militia since 2015
• The ship could spill more than a million barrels of oil into the Red Sea

Ephrem Kossaify

NEW YORK: World powers at the UN warned the Houthis Thursday that they would be responsible for an environmental disaster if an oil tanker moored off Yemen’s coast breaks up.

The decaying FSO Safer tanker has been under the control of the Iran backed militia since 2015. The ship could spill more than a million barrels of oil into the Red Sea, yet the Houthis have repeatedly blocked the UN from sending a team of expert to the vessel.

“The Houthis have not yet agreed to facilitate a UN assessment mission,” the UK’s permanent representative to the UN Barbara Woodward told the Security Council. “The vessel is under Houthi control and the responsibility for this matter rests on Houthi shoulders.”

She said if the Houthis fail to act then the UK would discuss further steps at the Security Council.

Last month, one of the militia’s leaders Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi angered officials at the world body when he said the UN would be responsible if the tanker, which has been described as a ticking time bomb, broke apart.

The UN responded saying it was doing everything possible to get the Houthis to allow experts access to the tanker.

Woodward’s warning was echoed by France’s envoy to the UN Nicolas de Rivière who said the Houthis would be responsible for the imminent environmental, economic and humanitarian threat posed by the Safer if they don’t “immediately” allow access to the UN’s assessment team.

The US ambassador to the UN said the Houthis must allow the assessment of the tanker to proceed “without further delays.”

“The Houthis also continue their dereliction of duty with the Safer oil tanker delaying UN assessment and initial repair of the vessel. This needs to end,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

“For nearly two years the Houthis have continued to move the goalpost. And we call on them to allow the assessment to proceed without further delays and urge other nations to press the Houthis to allow the assessment immediately.”

Meanwhile, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths said he was alarmed at “multiple drone and ballistic missile attacks carried out by Ansar Allah (the Houthis) against Saudi territory during the past week, including against civilian facilities.”

“We know this must stop,” he added.

The Arab coalition announced on Thursday it had destroyed five ballistic missiles and four explosive-laden drones launched by the Houthis toward Saudi Arabia.

The UK, France, US and the UN called on the Houthis to stop their offensive in Marib, the capital of an oil-rich region controlled by the government.

The militia has been trying to seize the city since February. “Marib … remains the major center of gravity in this conflict. The fighting in the area is showing dangerous signs of escalating once again. Internally displaced people, along with local communities, have been in the line of fire,” Griffiths said.

Saudi Arabia launched a wide-ranging initiative in March to bring peace to Yemen, deliver aid to its people and end the country’s six-year war.

The plan called for a nationwide cease-fire supervised by the UN, the reopening of Sanaa airport, and new talks to reach a political resolution to the conflict.