An oil tanker has sunk in the Gulf of Aden, Yemen News Portal reported, citing local sources.
According to the sources, the ship Diya, which belongs to Ahmad al-Essi, Deputy Director of the presidential office of puppet ruler Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, sank with with its fuel on board, off the coast of Al-Buraiqa district, west of Aden.
The fuel aboard the ship has in the meantime leaked into the sea, with pollution reaching the Haswa Natural Reserve, which has been taken over by the UAE-backed southern Transitional Council (STC) militias.
Environmental experts warned of the danger of the oil leaking from the sunken tanker on the lives of marine organisms.
One such specialist stressed the need for urgent measures, including the trapping of the floating oil on the sea surface in preparation for its removal by suction.
Since the intervention of Saudi Arabia and its coalition in Yemen, Yemen’s coast has been subjected to extensive contamination with chemicals and biological substances that are being dumped by coalition ships into Yemeni waters, causing large numbers of fish and other marine organisms to die.