The Yemeni government stressed on Monday that time is running out to avert a potential disaster due to the Safer oil tanker, which has been moored off the coast of Hodeidah for five years and is in desperate need of repairs.

The Iran-backed Houthi militias, which control Hodeidah, have been stalling in allowing a United Nations team from accessing and repairing the vessel, which is loaded with 1.1 million barrels of oil that could leak into the Red Sea.

Yemeni caretaker Minister of Fish Wealth Fahd Kafayen said Monday that the militias are continuing to obstruct international and local efforts to resolve the crisis, adding that they are preventing the UN team from emptying the oil cargo.

Failure to take any action may cause the cargo to leak into the sea, causing an unprecedented marine and environmental disaster, he told the Saba news agency.

He stressed that his government is seeking to resolve this problem and is ready to cooperate to unload the cargo and use the profits from the oil to support the health sector and humanitarian efforts.

He expressed concern that it may be too late to salvage the situation due to the Houthi intransigence, urging the international community to exert more pressure on the militias to allow the UN team to access the tanker.

Water has already started to leak into its engine room, prompting UN officials to warn of a major impending environmental disaster in the Red Sea, as well as the potential risk of a massive explosion caused by the buildup of gases in the storage tanks.