A UN-led operation to remove over one million barrels of crude oil from a rusting supertanker off Yemen safely concluded on Friday, preventing the immediate threat of a massive spill in the Red Sea.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the news of the successful transfer of oil aboard the FSO Safer to a replacement vessel, thus "avoiding what could have been a monumental environmental and humanitarian catastrophe." The FSO Safer was built as a supertanker in 1976 and converted a decade later into what is in effect a floating oil container.
The tanker was abandoned off the Red Sea port of Hudaydah after civil war broke out in 2015. Prior to the conflict, it was used to store and export oil from fields around Ma'rib, but the fighting brought production, as well as maintenance of the vessel, to a halt.
The UN had repeatedly warned of the danger the decrepit tanker posed to Yemen and the wider region as it was at risk of leaking, breaking apart or exploding, which would have resulted in catastrophic environmental and humanitarian consequences.
"Today is a proud moment for the many people across the UN System as well as our donors and partners who have worked tirelessly over the past months and years to avert a disaster in a country already vulnerable following protracted conflict," said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator.
"There is still work to be done, but today we can say with confidence that the immediate threat of a spill has been averted," he added.
Source: Qatar News Agency