A stranded oil tanker off the coast of Yemen could make the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill look like a beach party.
The tanker holds 1.1 million barrels of oil and is pretty much a done-in rust bucket. The tanker's structural integrity is on the verge of collapse and it is only a matter of time before it collapses. International trade could be stopped for weeks if there is a spill.
Most of the international efforts to help Yemen during its bloody civil war have understandably been directed at reducing loss of life but a two-month truce between opposing sides has opened a small window for the United Nations to address the time bomb.
The UN estimates that a Red Sea clean up would cost around $20 billion, but preventative measures are less expensive. An emergency operation to get the oil off the ship could cost as much as $82 million.
The UN is trying to raise about $20 million but it's not enough.
This sounds like a complete global disaster.
We can't tolerate more disaster right now, so hopefully someone in charge does something.
Scientists say there's no need to panic as the sunspot points at Earth again.
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