A VLCC that the United Nations bought from Euronav has set out to help salvage a decaying floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit off Yemen.

But the UN is still short of funds to complete the operation.

The 307,000-dwt Nautica (built 2008) left Zhoushan, China, on Thursday, the UN said in a statement as it urged donors to plow more cash into the project.