United Nations, Jul 11 (IANS): The transfer of crude oil from Safer, the decaying super oil tanker stranded off the coast of Yemen, is expected to start early next week, a UN humanitarian official said.

David Gressly, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, said in a statement that Nautica, a tanker specifically tasked with offloading oil from Safer, is ready to set sail from Djibouti, reports Xinhua news agency.

The transfer process, which is estimated to take about two weeks, will start once Nautica docks alongside Safer, he added.

"The completion of the ship-to-ship transfer of the oil by the start of August will be a moment when the whole world can have a sigh of relief," Gressly said.

"The worst-case humanitarian, environmental and economic catastrophe from a massive oil spill will have been prevented".

The delivery and installation of a catenary anchor leg mooring (CALM) buoy, which will be fastened to the seabed, is the next crucial step after the off-loading of the oil, according to the UN official.

The Nautica tanker will then be safely installed using the CALM buoy, he said, stressing that it is essential for the CALM buoy to be in place by September.

Gressly said that the UN is working closely with all parties to the conflict in Yemen to ensure the safe and timely completion of the transfer operation.

He thanked the donors for contributing to the operation, adding that the UN is still seeking additional funding to cover the full cost of the operation.

The FSO Safer is a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel that was built in 1976.

It was anchored off the coast of Yemen in 1984 to store oil produced by the Marib oil field.

The tanker was designed to be emptied and maintained regularly, but the war in Yemen has made it impossible to do so.

On May 30, a UN engineering vessel arrived at the site of the FSO Safer to make preparations for the transfer of its oil.

The UN has warned that a spill from the FSO Safer could have a devastating impact on the Red Sea and the coastline of Yemen.

The spill could release four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, which killed thousands of seabirds and marine mammals and caused widespread environmental damage.