In an unusual step for a UN agency, the UN Development Program said it signed a contract to purchase a crude carrier from major tanker company Euronav that will head to Yemen to remove the oil from the beleaguered FSO Safer. The 47-year-old ship has not been serviced since Yemen's devastating civil war broke out in 2015 and was left abandoned off the rebel-held port of Hodeida, a critical gateway for shipments into the country heavily dependent on emergency foreign aid. Iranian-backed Huthi rebels have swept much of the country, battling an internationally recognized government supported by a deadly military campaign led by Saudi Arabia