The United Nations Security Council has highlighted the risks posed by the FSO Safer tanker. Moored off the coast of Yemen, the leviathan is loaded with 1.1 million barrels of crude oil.
The UN has confirmed it will be meeting to discuss the tanker at 3pm ET (8pm BST) today.
Houthi rebels, who control the area where the ship is moored, have denied UN inspectors access to the tanker.
However, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said last week: “The local authorities recently signalled they would approve a UN mission to the site.”
The Security Council said, in a statement released last week: “The members of the Security Council expressed deep alarm at the growing risk that the Safer oil tanker could rupture or explode, causing an environmental, economic, and humanitarian catastrophe for Yemen and its neighbour.
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“They underscored the need for the Houthis to immediately grant unconditional access for United Nations technical experts to assess the tanker’s condition, conduct any possible urgent repairs, and make recommendations for the safe extraction of the oil, ensuring close cooperation with the United Nations.”
Internal documents obtained by The Associated Press last month warned how seawater had entered the tankers engine compartment.
Experts believe this has not been maintained for more than five years.
This has caused damage to the pipelines and increasing the risk of sinking.
Last month, Holm Akhdar warned: “Yemen would need a long period of time to tackle the fallouts of marine pollution.
“The Red Sea ecology would need over 30 years to recover from the ensuing dire consequences of the oil spillage.”
Approximately 850,000 tons of fish stocks lie in the Yemeni waters of the Red Sea, Holm Akhdar added.
And 969 species of fish are endangered by the decaying tanker.
Some 300 species of coral reefs are also believed to be in danger.
The floating tanker is a Japanese-made vessel built in the 1970s and sold to the Yemeni government in the 1980s.
The ship was intended to store up to three million barrels pumped from oil fields in Marib, a province in eastern Yemen before it was exported.
The ship is 1,181ft (360m) long with 34 storage tanks.