Date: Wednesday, 25 November 2020
Work can go ahead to stabilise the ageing ship - but workers won't be able to get on site for several months.
Wednesday 25 November 2020 12:00, UK
The UN has finally got permission to inspect a decaying tanker stranded off Yemen with 1.1 million barrels of oil.
The FSO Safer was abandoned five years ago when seawater flooded its engine room and there are fears of a devastating oil spill if maintenance work is not carried out.
The UN says the ship is "rapidly decaying" and has called it a "catastrophe in waiting" for Yemen and the Red Sea.
Yemen's Houthi rebels agreed by letter on Saturday to allow an expert team to examine the vessel, said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
However, any work is still several months away.
The UN spokesperson said staff and equipment could be on site by late January or early February, as it would take time to source equipment and get permits.
Divers and Houthi naval units managed to plug the most recent leak - in May this year.
An expert working for the UN warned earlier this month that any oil spill "could be four times worse than the historic Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, in 1989".