Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential risk of a major oil spill from the FSO Safer supertanker in the Red Sea.

FSO SAFER represents an extremely dangerous environmental risk, brought to international attention by UK-funded research that identified the threat posed by the tanker.

The UK has provided technical support to the UN's risk assessments of the SAFER salvage mission, with the most recent risk assessment taking place on 27 February 2022. On 18 July, the UK pledged a further £2 million to the UN SAFER plan to salvage the ship and its oil, removing the risk of spillage and environmental damage - taking our total pledge to £6 million.

We are also working with the UN to put in place detailed contingency plans in the event a spill occurs. We are coordinating with our partners to press the Houthis to facilitate the UN's vital work.