Jul 16, 2023 (Bloomberg) –A United Nations oil tanker arrived in Yemen on Sunday to begin the risky operation of pumping over a million barrels of crude oil from a decaying tanker in danger of exploding and causing an environmental disaster. 

The Nautica arrived at the port of Hodiedah, Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Bin Mubarak tweeted, to start a pumping operation that’s been in the works for years. The ship, moored off the Yemen coast, has been described as a “ticking time bomb.”

The UN says the transfer operation might take up to two weeks.