[02/09/2021 06:34]

GENEVA - SABA
Minister of Water and Environment Tawfeeq al-Sharjabi has stressed significance of speeding up the potential crisis of Safir Oil Tanker off Hodeida's Coasts to avoid humanitarian, environmental and economic disaster on Yemen and the region.

In Yemen's speech he delivered Thursday before the Ministerial Conference organized by the United Nations here for discussing marine wastes and plastic pollution, al-Sharjabi confirmed that solving the potential disaster is not difficult and starts by allowing the UN technical team to reach the stranded tanker to drain it but this simple measure has not been achieved since six years due to Houthi militia's rection of the team's access.

He also stressed significance of international action to avoid repercussions of this disaster under deterioration of the tanker's situation, a matter will lead to unprecedented pollution in the Red Sea over leaking more than million barrel of crude oil.

He pointed out that the Internationally- recognized government has been trying to help the UN to convince Houthi militia to allow to the team to visit the tanker since 2018 but all these attempts have been failed.

He called upon the participating countries in the conference to double efforts to take swift and decisive measures to avoid looming catastrophe in Yemen and the world and provide necessary support to the regional countries to face the potential disaster.

He called upon the international community to set up mechanisms and plans to be implemented on national, regional and international levels for managing plastic pollution and providing necessary support to poor countries to help them fulfil their pledges.

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