The specialist team that safely stabilized and transferred over one million barrels of crude oil from a decaying supertanker off the cost of Yemen, left the site on Monday, marking the end of a pivotal chapter in the UN-led operation to prevent a potentially disastrous oil spill in the Red Sea.
The UN and the broad group of partners that support the Safer project have so far succeeded in preventing the worst-case scenario of a massive oil spill in the Red Sea which with obvious potential catastrophic environmental, humanitarian and economic repercussions," UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a regular UN press briefing, in New York.
Oil from the Safer was transferred to the replacement vessel Yemen, formerly known as Nautica. The Yemen cast off from the Safer to a holding anchorage point pending the installation of specialized equipment for safely storing the volatile cargo, he added.
"However, critical work remains," Dujarric continued, noting that a specialized buoy is yet to be delivered and installed to moor the Yemen to the Safer for safe storage of the oil, as well as the towing and recycling of the old tanker.
To complete the project, $22 million is still required. Generous Member States, the private sector and the global public have already provided $121 million in funding.
Constructed in 1976 as a supertanker and converted a decade later to be a floating storage and offloading facility (FSO) for oil, the Safer is moored about 4.8 nautical miles off the coast of Hudaydah Governorate in Yemen.
The vessels structural integrity deteriorated significantly due to lack of repair and maintenance following the outbreak of the war in Yemen in 2015, putting the ship at risk of breaking apart.
