UN secures insurance for high-stakes transfer of crude oil from dilapidated tanker in Yemen

The United Nations has obtained insurance coverage to commence a ship-to-ship transfer of 1.1 million barrels of crude oil from a decaying tanker situated off the war-torn coast of Yemen.

The U.N. agency has been trying to start a salvage operation to avert what it says could amount to "one of the world’s largest, man-made disasters in history." It secured tens of millions of dollars in pledges for the operation, which started late in May with experts pumping inert gas to remove atmospheric oxygen from the oil chambers of the vessel.

"Insurance became a critical element of enabling this salvage operation to proceed. Without it, the mission could not go forward," said Achim Steiner, a UNDP administrator.