Aging tanker off Yemen's coast at 'Imminent risk' of spilling oil, warns UN.

The United Nations warned Friday that an old, neglected oil tanker carrying more than a million barrels of oil is a ticking 'time bomb' at 'imminent risk' of a major spill off the coast of Yemen that could cost $20 billion to clean up.

'If it were to happen, the spill would unleash a massive ecological and humanitarian catastrophe centered on a country already decimated by more than seven years of war,' U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen David Gressly told reporters.

'The environmental damage could affect states across the Red Sea. The economic impact of disrupted shipping would be felt across the region.'

The 45-year-old floating storage and offloading (FSO) facility holds 1.1 million barrels of oil, or four times the amount of the Exxon Valdez - the tanker that caused one of the greatest environmental disasters in United States' history.

It is at imminent risk of spilling a massive amount of oil due to leakages or an explosion, Gressly said.

'If it were to happen, the spill would unleash a massive ecological and humanitarian catastrophe centered on a country already decimated by more than seven years of war,' he said.

The FSO Safer has been moored some 4.8 nautical miles south west of the Ras Issa peninsula on Yemen's west coast for more than 30 years.

Production, offloading and maintenance ceased in 2015 due to the conflict between a pro-Government Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi rebels, and the vessel is now beyond repair.

Gressly warned that a significant spill would have devastating consequences for Yemen and beyond.

Some 200,000 livelihoods in the already war and crisis-wracked country could be instantly wiped out, and families would be exposed to life-threatening toxins.

'A major oil spill would likely close, at least temporarily, the ports of Hudaydah and Saleef,' he added, referring to critical entry points for food, fuel and supplies.

The disaster would have a severe environmental impact on water, reefs and life-supporting mangroves. Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia are also at risk. Clean-up alone would cost $20 billion.

'That does not count the cost of environmental damage across the Red Sea. Or the billions that could be lost due to disruptions to shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is also a passageway to the Suez Canal,' Mr. Gressly told journalists.

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