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Moored off Yemen’s coast, the FSO Safer is a decaying supertanker that could have spilled more than a million barrels of oil into the Red Sea. The result would have been an environmental, humanitarian and economic catastrophe.

But the UN raised over $50 million to buy a replacement tanker and transfer the oil, only to then see the Houthis take control of both tankers and start using the replacement tanker as a platform to store sanctioned Russian oil.

This is part two of the FSO Safer story, in which Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade looks at the bigger picture of Houthi power in the Red Sea.

Should we have seen this situation coming? And why does the world continue to underestimate the Houthis, despite repeated warnings from inside Yemen about their capabilities?

Joining Richard on this week’s podcast are:

Nadwha Al-Dawsari, non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute

Ian Ralby, chief executive, IR Consilium